May 4
by tzaya
Summary: "It's for his birthday, so I hope you'll take part." Shinra had his gaze fixated on the retreating figure of his friend, making sure no crimson eyes were watching and it never crossed his mind that this step he was taking, improvising a mere party into this scheme he brought up from nowhere would lash Izaya right about his brittle heart. / (RaijinDays!Shizuo!Kadota!Shinra!Izaya)
1. Chapter 1

Orihara Izaya was an intimidating teenager, one would say. He caused trouble all the time and the only reason why he wasn't kicked out of high school was because of his rank, being one of the top students— despite his tendency to skip classes. The teachers and director of the school were itching to make him leave, considering all the destruction he'd caused in angering Heiwajima Shizuo. It was only a relief that the two actually paid for the damage. Well, most of them.

Orihara Izaya was a handful, and it would be hard on you if you became his friend. He might just manipulate you for his own amusement, or to gain something that would benefit him. He never cared for a specific individual as he had claimed to love everyone all the same. He was known to trick people, and while it was easy to melt in his sweet talk, it was hard to catch him once you've found out that you'd been played. He was quick on his feet, dodging any attack thrown and was skilled with knives. After all, he was the only one who could go one-on-one with Heiwajima Shizuo, and even inflict some sort of damage. Why would you want to fight with someone like that?

Orihara Izaya was a closed book. He was so tightly shut no one could pry that chest open, to look for the heart everyone was starting to forget about. Perhaps not even Orihara Izaya himself could do so, or rather, he refused to. Shutting it out from the world was the shortcut to keeping a sense of familiarity within him. He'd been left alone for long, and to change that would take a lot of effort. It was hard to trust anyone when you had a lot of enemies. He knew he had to keep evolving, but he never wished to stoop down to that level of humanity, letting another person to control your feelings. The thought itself was already pathetic that it was nausea inducing.

But Orihara Izaya was Kishitani Shinra's friend, no matter how much the bespectacled boy screams about of his awful attitude. He was the only one who would think of including Izaya in anything. It was funny in a way, how fate brought them together. Though they were both interested in the same subject, _humans_ , he was fascinated by the human body and the wonders it contains while Izaya was fond of the human mind, and personality. He loved the various emotions and unpredictable actions humans do. Those were two different things but he decided that it didn't matter, as long as Izaya wanted to be friends with him, an odd ball. He only had a few friends after all, and Izaya had none.

Kishitani Shinra thought it was funny in a way, how he was the one who could read Orihara Izaya the best.


	2. Chapter 2

Kadota arched his brow, twirling a pen with his fingers. He was seated by the windowsill and he could see the subject of their plan walking towards the building. The fact that Izaya was late once again didn't elicit any reaction from him. The whole school had gotten so used to it that the teachers stopped giving him punishment, for it changed nothing.

"I'm surprised he came," Shinra voice resonated from behind him. "…but it'd be bad if he didn't, since it'd foil everything." Kadota only spared the boy a glance before the door to the classroom slid open, their gaze soon shifting to a familiar face. The chatters in the class died down as they felt chill going down their spines with that blonde hair in sight.

"Oh! That's right, Shizuo can join the prank too! Hey Sh-"

Shinra raised a hand and turned to go towards Shizuo but Kadota, _thankfully_ , covered Shinra's mouth and held him back.

"Do you want Shizuo to destroy the party?" He seethed and their gaze warily trailed over Shizuo's expression. Even though they hadn't say anything to the blond, it seemed as though he had an 'Izaya subject detector' equipped— his brow twitching in mild annoyance despite not knowing why.

Shizuo looked around and to his relief, he found no sign of his arch enemy. Well, at least not yet. His attention then turned towards his two friends who were huddled up by the windowsill. One had an arm up as if he was going to greet someone, while the other had his hand covering the first's mouth. It would be a weird sight to anyone else, but Shizuo was used to their antics.

"What are you doing?" He made his way to them, tossing his bag onto the table before taking a seat.

The gears in Kadota's mind turned -he wasn't expecting that Shizuo would actually ask- and in the moment of panic, he started to doubt himself. He had to think of the correct answer quick. Shinra couldn't be trusted. The brunette shut his eyes, brows furrowed in deep thought and before he knew it, words started to flow past his lips. What he thought to be internal thoughts, only to be known by him, was heard by both Shizuo and Shinra.

"Hm. Let's see, if I say the truth, there's no need for him to even try since it's something he does every day. It won't be any burden. I'm not sure if it'd be effective since it's such a common thing that no one would even notice any difference when it comes to these two. However, if I do say it, at th-"

Shinra and Shizuo looked at each other in confusion.

"Are you monologuing again?" Shinra broke his trance of thought with amusement, chirping in happily as his mouth was no longer covered. He'd slipped away when Kadota was getting immersed in his so-called private thoughts.

Kadota brought a palm up to his forehead and sighed. Maybe it'd be okay to just tell Shizuo that it was Izaya's birthday, but not the plan. He'd have to think of another answer if Shizuo asks about the plan later— but for now, this will do.

"…Nothing, we were just talking about Izaya's birthday."

"It's today!" Shinra nodded.

Shizuo emitted a scoff and pulled out his homework as well as a pencil, "He was born today? Would be nice if he'd die today as well."

It was like ice cold water had poured onto them. They only exchanged a nervous laugh, frozen to their spot by Shizuo's harsh words.

Unaware of his friends' distress, Shizuo flipped the book to the desired page and he started to work on a question. He'd gotten home late yesterday since there were a few gangs stupid enough to want to test out his strength for themselves. It was exhausting and those bastards spoilt his mood, so he went straight to sleep after dinner.

"I mean, it's not like I'm going to hold back just because it's his birthday. If he pisses me off…" He gritted his teeth, the pencil snapping in half.

" _Good morning!_ "

Speak of the devil.

Izaya came in as if on cue with his cheerful voice booming across the classroom. He skipped to his favorite monster and his bag bounced along against his back.

"Ah, good morning." Shinra and Kadota muttered and glanced at each other while Izaya's attention was wholly directed towards Shizuo. They nodded -signaling the beginning of their plan- and went to their seats without uttering another word. It was certainly out of the ordinary.

Izaya caught the movement and he merely observed them from the corner of his eyes before flashing the blond a mocking smile. There was a nagging feeling inside him, informing him that something was off by the way Shinra and Kadota barely responded.

 _It doesn't matter. I'll found out later._

"Oya, Shizu-chan, don't you know that you use pencils to write! Write! Not be made into little logs. Are you trying to make a campfire?"

The class could barely stomach the fear churning in their stomach when a desk flew crashed into the blackboard.


	3. Chapter 3

"You'll be working in pairs."

Cheers resonated inside the classroom, and the students immediately moved along to grab their partners. Izaya, as though it'd become natural for him, walked over to Shinra's desk and leaned against the windowsill. It was unspoken that they'd be a pair.

He once tried to partner up with Shizuo -the teacher thought it was a good chance for them to be friends, thus granting Izaya the permission- but after an innocent classmate of theirs almost got injured by a desk Shizuo threw, they were forbidden to be together. Shizuo also refused to be Shinra's partner— he claimed that Shinra was as annoying as Izaya.

Mr. Toshio nodded approvingly while he took a once over at all the pairs formed.

"I've written the names of countries you need to work on here," he held up rolled sticky notes inside his palm, "…representative from each team may come and pick one."

Izaya pushed himself off the windowsill and approached their homeroom teacher to pick one.

 _I'm the lucky one between us, anyway._

Unlike others, he didn't mull over which one to choose and instead grabbed any he deemed would be good.

"I'll give you only three days to complete the assignment. On the cover, as usual, you must include your name, class and—" finished up distributing the papers, explaining as he did so.

"Russia!"

A shout slipped past Izaya's lips as he held the paper he'd unrolled up in the air, a teeth-baring grin spreading across his face. It drew the class' attention and they took a moment to stare at him before shaking their heads.

"This is good! I can ask Simon!"

He recalled the times Simon had taught him Russian, and spoke about his country a few times. Those are the times when he was forced to eat sushi with Shizuo, the blonde sulking in the corner since he didn't understand a thing of what was being said.

"Looks like this might be the easiest assignment we've ever gotten."

"I can get some ootoro." Closing his eyes briefly, the grin on his face dissipates into a small, contented smile. The paper was long forgotten and crumpled in his fist. He nodded to himself before turning to find his partner.

"To Russia Sushi we go~"

Izaya skipped happily to Shinra's desk, only to find it empty. He arched a brow at the sight. It didn't take him long, however, to locate his friend. Shinra's voice was as loud and clear as always, coming from the back of the class.

"Ne, Chihaya-san, I see that you don't have a partner."

The raven-haired boy so badly wanted to call out to his friend. His lips parted but no words were uttered.

He knew he couldn't do it. His pride wouldn't let him.

With eyes narrowed into slits, his gaze bore into the bespectacled boy's back.

Shinra didn't seem to mind the fact that his friend was baring it all- the confusion, and anger was clearly shown on Izaya's face. It seemed that Izaya knew what he was about to do, but not the reason why. He had to pretend to be unaware. Izaya was too perceptive and would catch on quickly if he didn't act well.

"Can I be your partner?" Shinra smiled and tipped his head to the side. He saw the paper between Chihaya's fingers, and took the chance to anger Izaya further, "China? That's good! I was aiming to get that one!"

Chihaya blinked, quite flustered that a boy wanted to be her partner.

She had always been quiet in class, after all.

"Why's Shinra partnering with that girl?" Shizuo leaned back on his chair, looking at the scene before him. Kadota knew that the question was directed towards him. He couldn't back out as it would bring suspicion, though he wasn't sure if Shizuo would even notice that they were planning something.

Shizuo could be _very_ oblivious sometimes.

"Maybe… he wants to try working with someone else. He may be tired of Izaya." Kadota scratched at the back of his head, averting his gaze while Shizuo kept his locked on Izaya's frame.

"…Huh. Who wouldn't get tired of him? I would be, too."

Shizuo shifted his gaze towards Shinra. Nothing seemed out of place to him. Then again, no one expected Shizuo to notice. It was a trait Izaya envied. He wished he could be as oblivious as Shizuo, sometimes.

Perhaps then it would be easier to live without a care.

"Shizuo! Kyohei! I'm getting myself a partner so you don't have to worry! You guys can be together." Shinra yelled, looking over at the two with a cheerful expression.

It was a shame, Shinra thought, that Izaya wasn't looking his way when Chihaya said yes to his offer.

"I'll come over to your house tomorrow, okay?"

What kind of expression was Izaya making?

"It's set, then! Let's do well, Chihaya-chan! Can I call you Chihaya-chan?"

 _He wanted to know._

"Chihaya-chan, did you know that they eat dogs there?"


	4. Chapter 4

"First break of the day." Stretching his sore limbs, Kadota let out a sigh. Mr. Toshio had been kind as to let them discuss the project for the rest of his class. He tried to plan it out with Shizuo, but all the facts he recited about Korea flew right over Shizuo's head. It was appreciated that the blonde at least made an attempt to understand, though he seemed mildly annoyed.

Kadota felt like he was speaking foreign language to Shizuo.

"You can come over my house, and we'll work on the assignment then."

Shizuo gave him a nod and stood up, ready to go buy his usual strawberry bun. He tousled his bleached hair as he waited for the other two in their group—the two chatty pests. They don't even fit into his list of 'annoying but bearable people' yet after years of going everywhere together as a bunch, he'd gotten used to it.

He tapped his foot on the floor impatiently. On cue and as if knowing Shizuo would tick off soon, Shinra ran along towards them. In his hand was his cellphone that he proudly held up high. The screen showed an email address he'd just required.

"I exchanged emails with Chihaya-chan!"

"I don't care." Shizuo retorted.

Izaya finally turned around in his seat. His posture was relaxed, and he had a smile playing on his lips.

"I'll have you know that 'Chihaya-chan' isn't really good at World History. It's not too late to ask me to be your partner. You can have another chance, since I'm so kind."

Shinra arched a brow at this.

It was quite funny that Izaya was trying this hard to keep him by his side. Almost laughable. It made him feel special and wanted, though it was only because he was all that Izaya had.

"Eh, It doesn't matter."

Contrary to what Izaya thought (probably the walls he'd put up being impenetrable), Shinra knew that Izaya wasn't as cold as he wanted himself to be. To others, maybe so, but to his only friend?

Shinra would like to think that he was one of Izaya's weaknesses.

What would happen to Izaya if he really did leave?

"It's tedious to be seeing your face again." He hardly looked at Izaya, playing the act of nonchalance, "Celty said I should get more friends. You're not exactly a good influence."

 _I'm sorry, Celty! I_ _ **really**_ _didn't want to use you, but this is the only way!_

"Is that so?"

Izaya narrowed his gaze, with a frown akin to a pout marring his face.

"Maybe I should show you how much of a good influence I am."

"Oh, speaking of threats so casually? It's scary! Even when I first approached you, you were so cold I thought I was going to freeze and become an ice block just by being near you!"

Shinra tucked his notebook into his bag and tipped his chin back up to look at Izaya, his lips stretched into a smile.

"It's why you don't have friends, Orihara-kun."

 _Shinra's words were really harsh._

It wasn't directed to him, but Kadota could feel the biting words tugging at his heart strings. He knew they were supposed to be mean to Izaya— yet he couldn't bring himself to and Shinra seemed to be covering him just fine, but this was just supposed to be a prank. A harmless one! They shouldn't mentally scar the birthday boy.

Izaya didn't seem like it, but Kadota knew deep under his heart, that Izaya also felt the emotion he just felt.

Hurt.

"Why are you two fighting now?" Kadota blurted out in panic, tugging at Shinra's arm.

" **Can we just go?** "

Yes, _thank you_ , Shizuo.

Shizuo's voice caught Izaya's attention, much to Kadota's relief (for the first time) and Izaya turned back around to face the blank papers he'd laid out on his desk. With his nimble fingers, he calmly picked up his mechanical pencil.

"I'll stay here, then. After all, I do have to do work for two people." Izaya stated rather cheerfully despite the words flowing out like venom.

 _That was totally aimed for Shinra._

"Shizu-chan can go! I don't want Shizu-chan to destroy the whole school just because he's starving."

There was a roar, and the rest of the remaining students quickly ran out of the classroom.

Shizuo was heaving with anger. He held Kadota's desk over his head, ready to dump it onto Izaya's head while the owner of the said desk tried to stop him. Kadota _really, really_ didn't want to go find a new one. It was enough that he had to accompany Shizuo several times in a week to get a replacement for all the things the blond broke—like a chair, a broom, a desk and even the ceiling lamp.

"Dotachin?"

"Yes?"

Shinra stepped on his shoe, causing him to yelp and bump into Shizuo. In result, his desk was destroyed. Shizuo fell over with the desk still in his hands, and the impact made him tighten his grip. Not only did the desk get cracks at the edges— but it was broken in half.

He understood that Shinra wanted him to say something mean.

" _But he didn't have to step on me…_ " Kadota mumbled to himself with a frown.

The poor guy looked like he almost wanted to cry over the loss of his desk. He hung his head low as he emitted a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Izaya. I didn't eat breakfast, so I need to get some food."

"Eat well, Dotachin! Ah— It'd be nice if you bring back some coffee, perhaps, after recess." Izaya started jotting notes regarding Russia on the paper, a highlighter in his other hand.

"If I have some money left…"

Kadota whined to himself and made his way out of the classroom with Shizuo trailing behind him. Shizuo was apologizing for the damage he had done to Kadota's desk. He didn't have the heart to scold Shizuo, and this wasn't the first time, so he decided to let the blond go.

"Have fun working!" Shinra yelled, walking backwards towards the door. His steps were slow as he purposefully delayed the moment he actually left the class. He knew Izaya would respond to him. It didn't matter how angry the other was.

Izaya stopped in his tracks, hand stilling, and he looked over his shoulder.

 _ **Bingo.**_

Eyes curled into crescents from the big grin he had on his face, Izaya leaned back in his seat.

"Go die."

A laugh bubbled from his throat and Shinra finally turned around to join the two who were waiting for him outside.

"Ah, I've hurt him a little too much."

.

* * *

.

"It's not like I really want to do this."

Izaya rolled his eyes and shut the textbook. The thick pages made a 'thump' sound, and he stared at it as though the book was going to catch on fire with his intense gaze. He had done about 20% of the work until he decided that he couldn't focus enough to finish it.

Not with Shinra on his mind.

He just couldn't figure out why Shinra was acting this way. Nothing odd except that it was over the top. They'd always been quite mean to each other with their icy words -that was true- but it seemed more excessive today. It seemed like a plan of some sort at first. He figured out as much, but Shizuo didn't seem different. Neither did Kadota. _That_ made him think twice about the conclusion he'd reached.

Could it be that Shinra was really, truly, bored of Izaya?

"It's fine, who cares about Shinra, anyway?"

Stretching, Izaya stood up to make way to the windowsill. He opened his flip phone with a flick of his wrist and didn't stop scrolling down the contacts until it's on Russia Sushi's number.

He kept his eyes locked on the set of digits for a moment, teeth nipping at the tip of his own thumb as he hummed a low tune. The raven haired boy then angled his head to the side and gazed upon the back of the school. There was nothing much to see, only grass, fences and… _a tree with a bunch of bushes surrounding it._

 _._

* * *

.

"What the—!"

Shizuo and Kadota crinkled their noses in distaste at the shrill scream coming from their friend. The horrified boy jumped, just in sync too, with the frog in his bag.

"I thought you liked dissecting frogs, Shinra. I saw one earlier and decided to gift you with one!" Izaya smiled, and he really did look proud of himself, "Aren't I the best friend?"

Despite his heart hammering fast in his chest, Shinra managed to muster his usual grin, which came with a grind of teeth this time around. It wasn't like he was scared of frogs. He particularly didn't care for them since he was more interested in humans -he remembered wishing he could've dissected a human during biology instead- but that movement in his bag could've been anything.

Especially when it was from Izaya.

" _Yes_. Thank you, Orihara-kun."

Shizuo would've thought Shinra really did love frogs if it he didn't knew how mischievous Izaya was.

"…"

"IZZZZZAAAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Ah, I forgot. I brought a caterpillar for Shizu-chan. I know how Shizu-chan doesn't like feeling left out."


	5. Chapter 5

**8.30 A.M**

"Orihara Izaya came!"

Hiroto tugged at the hem of Yuuma's shirt, causing the boy to follow his friend's gaze. There stood their target, clad in a rather oversized white shirt and black shorts— _plus an additional garment._ Izaya was wearing a black hoodie. He warmed up without a care, stretching and oblivious of the two boys talking behind his back.

"Ei, look at him, wearing that," grimacing, Yuuma leaned towards Hiroto, "he really likes to stand out."

Hiroto nodded and scanned over Izaya's outfit, then his own.

"Should we wear something like that too?"

That comment only earned Hiroto a smack to the head. He rubbed his temple with a small wince. Maybe keeping quiet would be a better choice to make than compliment your rival's clothes.

Nevertheless, they kept their gaze locked on Izaya as though they were predators waiting for the right time to jump on their prey. They'd been hoping that this would happen. For years!

 **Today**

… **is the day!**

They could finally seek revenge on Orihara Izaya, who'd done a number of things to them.

Izaya, who was popular among the female students, causing them to be single despite being seniors in their final year.

Izaya, who made Shizuo break their desks and chairs.

Izaya, who made such a ruckus during the week before examination but aced the tests while they suffered from low grades. It must've been Izaya's fault for distracting them!

Yuuma recited each of Izaya's faults, folding his fingers one by one with his crinkled nose indicating his mild annoyance towards their mischievous classmate.

"We need to get back at him." Hiroto gave his friend a nod.

A whistle was blown and they snapped out of their trance.

Heavy footsteps made their way to them. The students quickly straightened their backs, looking at the man approaching.

"Everyone, I hope you've warmed up enough!"

"Because today, we'll be playing…" Mr. Fujiwara juggled the red ball in his clutch, a smile playing on his lips, " _…dodgeball."_

 **YOOSH! This is our chance!**

Hiroto and Yuuma high-fived each other as excitement surged through them. They could already imagine Izaya getting hit by the ball they throw. How good would that feel?

" _Dodgeball… you say?"_

An eerie silence took over as everyone turned their heads towards a certain student's way, whose aura was so strong Hiroto could've swore he saw fire burning in Shizuo's eyes. The grin replacing Shizuo's usual scowl didn't help soothe their frightened souls either.

Mr. Fujiwara let out a small laugh that sounded rather forced. He didn't want his gym to be destroyed today.

"H-Heiwajima! You'll be in a team with Orihara."

 **Eh?**

.

* * *

.

 **8:35 A.M**

Threading his fingers through his raven hair, Izaya knew they would undoubtedly win today's game. The only opponent he deemed to be strong would be Shizuo. And Shizuo was in his team this time around. Not only did he not need to worry about a bone crushing fight, but having Shizuo on his side would come in handy.

He exhaled a contented sigh and shifted his gaze, meeting Yuuma's whose lips were stretched into a mischievous smile.

"We won't go easy on you." said Yuuma.

The daring move seemed to intrigue Izaya. Yuuma watched as Izaya arched a brow as though contemplating something before moving back slightly. _Could it be that I've intimidated him?_ Yuuma thought to himself. Izaya didn't even participate in the first grab, in which Yuuma had won the ball over before Kadota did.

 **Got you.**

It turned out to be a bad idea to make eye-contact with Orihara Izaya, he noted as he threw the ball in Izaya's direction. His target immediately moved to the side and as if that wasn't taunting enough, Izaya only stepped away just slightly. The ball nearly grazed his shoulder but it hit Shinra who was standing at the back.

With his hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie, Izaya tipped his head back and let out a mocking laugh,

"Too predictable."

Yuuma seethed in frustration. When the ball came back to him, he captured it to try the throw on Kadota. He succeeded in eliminating Kadota. This only meant that it wasn't because he was bad at dodgeball.

After that first mistake, he'd been relentlessly aiming for Izaya and though he tried not to look Izaya's way -as a new tactic of his- Izaya was skilled as ever at dodging. Even with Hiroto and his friends' attempts, they couldn't even let the ball touch Izaya's hood which was billowing to and fro whenever Izaya moved.

"Shouldn't you be protecting your teammates?!" Yuuma shouted. The constant failures were getting on his nerves.

Izaya wore a confused expression as though Yuuma was speaking nonsense. He skipped to the side when another person from Yuuma's team aimed for him (he wasn't sure why everyone was coming after him), and held his hands out. He was only focused on saving himself, _and Shizuo_. Shizuo was a special attack of his, thus he'd been pulling Shizuo out of the way when the ball came shooting towards the blond.

 _Saving the best for last._

"I don't care for them." retorted Izaya, finally capturing the ball in his palms. His eyes were smiling from his cheeks due to the big grin plastered on his face, his head angled to the side.

"Ne, looks like it's my turn. Let's have fun, Yuuma-kun!"

.

* * *

.

 **8.50 a.m**

Shouldn't having lesser people mean easier to beat?

Yuuma doubted that when the remaining members of the opposite team being Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya. Ever since Izaya caught the ball the first time, he'd been catching it more and more. Not only that, he'd been eliminating Yuuma's teammates with precision (including Yuuma himself). Every single throw he made _hit_.

"Shizu-chan!"

Hiroto gulped. He still had a few members on his team. It sounded comforting and since Yuuma had been eliminated, it came down to him to play captain and save the day. But that's easier said than done— _especially when Orihara Izaya is standing right behind you._ Wherever he moved, Izaya followed.

"Isn't this cheating, Orihara-kun?" He could only laugh and hope Shizuo would end up hitting Izaya instead. Oh, such wishful thinking!

"Hiroto-kun, I'm not touching you. It can't be considered a foul!" Izaya shook his head, giving him the sweetest smile he'd ever seen, "I'm merely visiting the other team."

Hiroto looked over to Yuuma and mustered a smile.

"Here, here!"

Izaya flailed his arms cheerily from behind Hiroto while Shizuo raised the arm with the ball in his clutch, eyes only targeting his arch enemy.

Ready to attack.

.

 _THUD._

 _._

The last thing Hiroto remembered before everything went black was panicked screams and Mr. Fujiwara calling out his name.

 _Ah, there was also Heiwajima Shizuo apologizing to him._

 _Or was it just a dream?_

 _._

* * *

 _._

 **9:55 a.m**

"Don't be loud!"

Chatters died down as soon as Mr. Toshio gave his warning, only hushed whispers remaining— most speaking about unimportant things instead of carrying the weight of the assignment they'd just been handed over.

"Hey, I think you need to do this part. I don't really understand it. Why did we even get Thailand?"

Hiroto unceremoniously dumped the textbook onto Yuuma's desk and took a seat next to his friend, holding an ice pack to his bruised cheek with a pained moan. His friend, however, paid no heed to a word he just uttered. Yuuma only had interest in the scene currently folding out before his eyes.

Tapping sounds resonated as his fingers drummed along the wooden surface, and his smirk widened when Izaya went back to his seat.

"Look, Kishitani is pairing up with Kisaragi."

"Kisaragi Chihaya? Are they that close?"

"He's doing that to spite Orihara." with a roll of his eyes at Hiroto's question, Yuuma leaned back against his chair.

Hiroto nodded and furrowed his brows, gaze scrutinizing the two boys for more information. The project he wanted to discuss with Yuuma was long forgotten.

To see in close proximity when they're seated at the back would be an impossible task. Only Shinra's face was in view and the bespectacled boy was wearing that usual happy demeanor of his. There was really nothing to see there.

"Oh? Orihara doesn't seem to care." Hiroto muttered.

Despite the fact that he was facing Izaya's back, he could see that Izaya had a leisure posture and Hiroto had never seen him upset nor angry (whoever tries to anger Orihara Izaya must have a death wish, with the exception of Heiwajima Shizuo).

"Satoshi, aren't you in baseball?"

Hiroto averted his attention to Yuuma, who was handing a crumpled ball of paper to Satoshi.

"Throw this at him."

"Well, I'm not that good—"

"It doesn't matter!"

"It didn't hit!"

"Yuuma…?"

"I think it hit someone else."

.

* * *

 _._

 _Slam._

Shutting the door and leaning against the wall, all Hiroto could think about was how relieved he was to have escaped from the class when Heiwajima Shizuo threw a chair at Yuuma and Satoshi.

* * *

 **NOTE:**

 **( I'm sorry I'm a bit slow. It's so hard to have me feel proud and satisfied of a chapter. As for the honorifics, I just think Izaya would be that person who calls everyone by their first name even if he's not close to them (I'm bad at this but I still want to try, please forgive me). I read everyone's reviews and I'm sorry I can't really reply apart from sending PMs about it. Thank you so much for them, they make me happy. I love you all. Anyway, I hope this is good enough! Enjoy! ( ˘ ³˘) ❤ )**


	6. Chapter 6

**7:50 A.M**

"He'll surely be worried and arrive late to school!" 8 year old Mairu nodded confidently, her hands set on the hips.

How could their brother tell them to go away whenever they wanted to play with him? The stuffed toys should be interesting enough to play with. But Izaya instead told them that it was childish, and when he did give in, he would always make Kaoru-chan (the bunny) be mean to the rest. His excuse was 'Kaoru-chan won't succumb to the idea of sorority tea party and prefers to be different. Maybe Kaoru-chan wants to take up judo.'

 _Iza-nii should just say it if he doesn't have good imagination like us._

Thankfully, Shinra had told them about the plan for today and it was just the chance they needed to get back at their brother.

Talk about good timing!

"Iza-nii! We don't want to go to school today!" said Mairu, acting as though she was about to throw a tantrum, her little foot slamming down onto the floorboard.

"Don't…" Kururi added.

Izaya gave them a lingering stare, his expression nonchalant. It didn't take him long to reach a conclusion as he turned around to slip on his shoes, "Okay."

…?

Horror dawned on the twins. The plan was backfiring! Now it'd be nice to stay at home, but this was not what they need today! Holding a palm up, Mairu's usual loud voice took another notch as she hurriedly yelled before Izaya could leave the house.

"W-wh- Wait!"

Mairu frowned before continuing, "We'll go! But I don't want our neighbor to send us to school! Nohara-san never bathes in the morning. His body odor is too bad, we might die on the way there."

"Want… Iza-nii…" Kururi gave her brother a nod.

Izaya closed his fingers around the doorknob, a sigh slipping past his lips. It was his birthday and his sisters were being hard-headed as usual. It'd never been easy living with these two. His only solace was knowing there'd be wishes and presents waiting for him at school.

Shrugging the strap of his bag onto his shoulder, he angled his frame sideways to have a better look at Mairu (considering she'd been the one complaining the most), "Then I'll have to send you off now. Get ready within five minutes."

"No! It doesn't start until 9!"

"Don't go today, then."

"I-It's Akiko-chan's birthday today and there'll be cake! So we have to go!"

"I can buy you cake when I get home."

"It won't be the same!"

"Cake is still cake."

Furrowing her brows, Mairu puffed her cheeks up in frustration. She glared at Izaya and when he returned the glare with one of his own, they ended up caught in a staring competition. Neither of them seemed like they would give in anytime soon. They were both competitive in nature. Once, they'd wrestled for a good one hour until Mairu's favorite show came on and she begrudgingly retreated while the triumphant smirk on Izaya's face ended up lasting all day.

If their parents were there, they probably would've gotten mad over the bad table manner when Mairu got annoyed from Izaya's smirk during dinner and they proceeded to attempt to stab each other using chopsticks.

"Iza-nii…"

A soft voice spoke from behind and they both turned their heads to Kururi, whose light steps made way to Izaya and with her hand outstretched, she tugged at the wine red shirt of Izaya's. Her neutral expression was akin to Kasuka's expressionless one, thought Izaya, but Kururi had more reactions. They were just not as exaggerated as Mairu's.

After living together for years, he could pick up the subtle sulky pout on her face— and upon seeing that, Izaya tipped his chin up slightly as he pinched the bridge of his nose with slight distaste.

"Alright."

.

* * *

.

 **8:55 A.M**

" _Wake up!"_

" _H-Hiroto! Hiroto! Are you okay?"_

" _He's unconscious…"_

" _Carry him to the infirmary!"_

Izaya rolled his shoulders and brought an arm up to rub at the back of his head, appearing bored. Who would've known that he could use his special attack only once? After the ball collided with Hiroto's cheek, they immediately stopped the game. How boring! Even in real games, they would just take away the injured player and the game will continue merrily.

"Shizu-chan, this is all your fault." whined Izaya.

Shizuo couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was him that threw the ball, indeed, but Izaya provoked him. Izaya _knew_ of what was going to happen. Shizuo stood up, finally leaving Hiroto's side to face Izaya, "It's your fault! Why did you have to stand behind Harita?"

"It's _Hiroto_!" laughing, Izaya leaned down to pick the ball up before throwing it at Shizuo's chest,"And you were supposed to aim for him. Not me, ne? I'm in your team."

"I'd hit you with _this_ any day, even if it's a game for pairs and you're my partner." Shizuo bounced the ball in his hand. After three bounces, the ball came shooting towards Izaya. It was fast and no one saw it coming. No one except Izaya, whose eyes held a peculiar glint as if he was fascinated by the move, even though he managed to dodge Shizuo's attack at the last second.

"Oh, how cute! Shizu-chan thinks we could be partners. I'd rather not but Shizu-chan is quite useful so I'm willing to reconsider. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to be paired up again after what happened today. Of course, you're to blame for that."

Izaya snickered, straightening his back and turning around to exit the gym as he waved farewell without sparing others a glance, "But maybe we will someday."

"Where are you going?" Shinra asked. The sight of Izaya leaving made him nervous. How could they execute their plan if the star of it leaves?

"Home."

"What?! Izaya!"

.

* * *

.

 **9:03 A.M**

"He really came…" Mairu's lopsided smile threatened to turn into a frown, the corner of her lips already twitching as she chuckled in disbelief, "…and he looks happy."

The twins were already dressed in their school uniform and standing outside of their house. They wondered for a moment if they should've just lounged in the living room in case Izaya wouldn't come, but Izaya would get mad and ditch them.

Kururi was the first to greet Izaya when he finally reached them.

"Late…" she muttered softly.

"What're you going to do when you work? Punctuality is important!" Mairu, chirping in, started to flail her arms with her fists clenched. "And leaving me and Kuru-nee here for so long, what if we get kidnapped?"

"I'd be glad to have you off my back." Izaya flashed them a grin. "Ah, anyway, I had a good game earlier." He started walking and naturally, his hands intertwined with Mairu and Kururi's. The outcome of the game was really putting him in a good mood. It was hilarious, and he'd managed to make Shizuo lose control again. This time even going as far as to hurt someone!

 _Although it would've been better if it was Yuuma-kun who'd gotten hit._

"Iza-nii… wearing gym clothes." said Kururi, her chin tipped up to look at Izaya.

"We played dodgeball. Did you know that Shizu-chan hurt Hiroto-kun? You should've seen it, the ball hit so hard I was surprised his skull didn't crack!"

Mairu fixated her gaze on Izaya. She observed her brother's behavior and Izaya didn't seem bothered by the fact that he had to leave during class to take them to their school. In fact, he was so happy that even Mairu's unusual silence didn't catch his attention while he went on about how the game went.

 _If it's like this, then…_

Letting go of Izaya's hands carefully, Mairu and Kururi glanced at each other and nodded. Kururi then shifted her attention back to the oblivious Izaya. He must've thought Mairu was still by his side, when in reality, Mairu had gone back to hide in an alley. Just as planned.

Kururi pulled at Izaya's arm, leading him to an ice cream parlor with a faint smile painted across her face, "Ice cream?"

Izaya shook his head. He came here to bring his sisters to school, not treat them to ice cream.

"Own… money." retorted Kururi as she dipped her hand into her bag and took out a few bills.

"That's the money I gave you."

Kururi smile turned upside down at Izaya's reply. She contemplated briefly before deciding to let it go. Her shoulders jolted a little as she feigned shock, pretending that she had no clue of Mairu's whereabouts when they'd already come here yesterday and picked a secluded area where Mairu could hide.

Behind the big trashcan in the alley not far from where they were standing!

"Mairu?" Kururi called out.

Izaya blinked, finally noticing Mairu's disappearance upon looking to his right. He'd been so engaged in reliving the moment he'd reigned over Shizuo's control in his mind that he didn't realize when Mairu sneaked away from him. He really couldn't take his eyes off of them, could he? It would be no problem if they knew how to protect themselves.

Bottom lip caught between the set of his teeth, Izaya's sharp gaze darted from one corner to another. There were a lot of possibilities as to where Mairu could've gone. Back home, school, some shops or even Russia Sushi. Checking each place would be such a hassle. It would take too much time.

An idea popped up in his head and Izaya finally set his gaze somewhere. Kururi stood where she was, clutching the strap of her bag when he told her to stay put and proceeded to leave her by the ice cream parlor. She wasn't sure why Izaya trusted her not to run away. But even if she tried to, she probably wouldn't be able to go far since Izaya would be keeping an eye on her.

They were twins, after all. Izaya had referred to them as a human being separated in halves. He would expect Kururi to act the same way Mairu did.

"Think Mairu…" Kururi's eyes followed Izaya's every move, "…will be found."

Her brother was fast, she knew that. Izaya didn't waste more time when he scaled a building, hopping from one wall to another until his fingers were on the edge of the roof and he hauled himself up. She watched as he crouched on the ledge, looking around from above.

It would be easier to see everything at a high place like that.

It was a smart move, no doubt.

.

.

"A failure." Kururi whispered to Mairu when Izaya came back a minute after with Mairu being dragged by her braided hair.

"Iza-nii, let go!"

Mairu kicked and kicked at Izaya's legs but Izaya seemed rather unfazed. He only reached a hand out to pinch Mairu's cheek, making her yelp in pain. He leaned his upper half forward to meet her eyelevel and gave Mairu a smile, "You need to do better than that to run away from me. What would've happened if I just left you?"

"Would… do that?" Kururi asked.

Mairu let Izaya grasp their hands in his to continue their little journey. "Of course he would." She scoffed. "We'll try next year."

Izaya only laughed. He knew they wouldn't be able to beat him. With his line of work, he could find information of their location with a snap of his finger. He was a skilled informant and it was interesting to learn so much about people that he was considering to work as a full time informant when he graduates.

"Here." Kururi gestured towards the school building when they came close to the entrance.

"Why is the school starting at 9?" Izaya arched a brow.

"About that… there's a festival! And we're allowed to go whenever we want…" Mairu let out a nervous laugh, not daring to look at Izaya. She took Kururi's hand and ran inside, hastily yelling a goodbye before making her way to her classmate.

"Akiko-chan!"

Izaya scrunched his nose at Mairu's shrill scream but trailed behind them anyway, marveling at the amount of people enjoying themselves and the different types of booths set up. There were a lot of children since it was an elementary school. They didn't interest him much since children changes their minds a lot, and they are still developing. Perhaps he could indulge himself in some of the goods or food sold here instead.

"Going to school?" Kururi crept over to stand next to Izaya.

"I think I'll check this festival out first." Izaya nodded. He attempted to take another step ahead but Mairu and Kururi quickly stopped him, pushing him back whenever he moved forward. They couldn't have Izaya skip school! They already failed at their plan, so Izaya was supposed to move on and fall into Shinra's trap next.

"No! Go away, Iza-nii! Not today!"

"Why not today?" Izaya narrowed his gaze in suspicion at Mairu.

"No reason! Iza-nii doesn't have any coupons, anyway. Go to school!"

Holding his palm out, Izaya wriggled his fingers— signaling the girls to hand him some of theirs. Mairu and Kururi shared a quick glance with each other before looking up at their brother.

"Will you love us more if we give you the coupons?"

.

.

Izaya treaded along the curb with an ice cream cone in his hand, checking the time on his phone which told him that it was five till 9:30. He only had five minutes left until Mr. Fujiwara's 'class' come to an end (although it ended the moment Shizuo hit Hiroto's face with a ball). Five minutes to go back to school and change into his gakuran before class starts.

His gaze trailed to the little party held in the corner for Akiko's birthday.

"Come to think of it," he paused briefly, thinking of his own birthday, "why didn't I get anything from people at school?"

.

.

* * *

 **Note: I don't know how it turned out to be this long... I just hope that it's good and that the characters seem at least a bit IC. This is the second failed attempt at pranking Izaya. One more is coming, and then we'll go back to the current timeline. Also, thank you for the reviews! I read them thoroughly and they make me very happy! I feel so touched that you'd take the time to leave these for me. Thank you for even reading this story, honestly.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I love you. ヾ( ＾Д')o* ***


	7. Chapter 7

"Please do this for me."

Shinra smiled, tipping his head to the side, "It'll be more meaningful. Trust me."

Midori's fingers fiddled with the edge of the gift box and she glanced at Shinra with uncertainty. The neatly packed box felt smooth in her hands, not a wrinkle to be seen on the wrapping paper. Clearly a lot of effort was put into this. She'd rather be the one to hand the gift to Izaya. Not only Izaya would acknowledge her for even a couple of seconds (and perhaps give her that sweet smile of his), who knew how careful Shinra is going to handle it?

"Are you sure?" she asked again.

"We're doing this just for today, so I hope you'll cooperate with us." Kadota gave Midori a nod. He scanned through girls surrounding them, holding back a small sigh before letting his gaze fall back on Shinra.

Why did he sign up for this again?

"If you don't join in, it wouldn't work well. Don't you want him to have the best birthday ever?"

That was a bit of a lie. A white lie Shinra had to tell.

He doubted it'd be the best birthday Izaya ever had— especially with the plan he'd devised and the number of people involved in it. But it should be worth it in the end, right? Most people do this kind of surprise with their friends. Plus, it'd be fun to see Izaya's reaction.

"Okay." Midori gave in, and soon the others follow. Kadota and Shinra could barely hold all the gifts handed over to them in their arms. They only hoped they could reach Celty -who'd been waiting at the front gate- before they drop the gifts. The girls would surely be out for their blood if they damage those even the slightest.

"Oh, and one more thing," Shinra stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder to flash the girls a big grin.

"Don't wish him happy birthday either."

.

* * *

.

 **10:13 A.M**

"Good morning, Orihara-san."

Izaya turned his head, meeting the girl's gaze and smiled in return. The girl squealed in happiness while she passed by Izaya, tugging at her friend with excitement. There were only books in her hands and nothing else.

"Hm…" He stared at her retreating figure with a small frown, the smile he gave her no longer there.

Usually, he'd be getting a lot of presents by now, especially from the girls who adore him. But so far he hadn't even gotten any wishes _. Did they forget? Or is there something going on?_ Things did seem to be weird, since everyone's focus was set on him. He couldn't figure out what he did wrong, though.

Plopping onto the grass, Izaya searched through the bushes he saw out the window earlier.

"Shinra would probably like a gift as gratitude for the stunt he pulled off." mumbled Izaya to himself.

A small frog hopped to the side from all the rustling Izaya did, catching his attention. He reached a hand out to grab the small creature but a pair of polished black shoes suddenly blocked his sight from his target.

"The principal would like to see you." Mr. Fujiwara spoke.

Still having his eyes on the frog, Izaya kept track of where it was going to go. He didn't want it to stray far. It'd be troublesome to find another since he didn't have much time until the break ends.

"Why?"

"He'll be assigning detention for your misbehavior."

Izaya looked at Mr. Fujiwara, taking his sweet time to get back on his feet and brush bits of grass off his pants. He didn't forget to wave at the frog before leaving with Mr. Fujiwara to the principal's office.

"I'll come back for you later, frog-san!"

.

.

"Take a seat."

The principal, Mr. Akiyama, gestured towards the chair situated in front of him. He drummed his fingers on the wooden surface and gave Mr. Fujiwara a quick glance while Izaya got himself comfortable _, very comfortable actually_ — with his back leaning against the cushion and chin resting in his palm.

They both pursed their lips at Izaya's behavior. It was tempting to tell Izaya off, but they'd gone through this before.

"I've been informed that you left for home during school hours. You do know that it's against school rules, right?" said Mr. Akiyama.

"Yes."

"You'll be receiving punishment for that."

"I had to send my little sisters to school."

He scribbled something onto a piece of paper before looking up to make eye-contact with Izaya, "Isn't there anyone else to send them?"

"Not today," Izaya shook his head, the corners of his lips stretching into a smile, "I think it's safer for me to do so than them going there alone."

" _Don't you agree?"_

Mr. Akiyama gulped at the gaze Izaya was giving him. He took his handkerchief out, wiping at the sweat dripping on his face sheepishly. Orihara Izaya was still a rather intimidating student to him despite of his status as the principal. Izaya didn't have the amazing strength Shizuo had, but he was skilled with knives and self-defense. It was a shame to admit that they needed Izaya to keep the good name of the school. If he hadn't gotten excellent results on each test, they would've long kicked Izaya out.

"Ah, yes." he laughed nervously, "I'll… let that go since you had a valid excuse. But you've also destroyed many school properties along with Heiwajima Shizuo. You haven't paid for the damage caused for the month."

"I'll ask for early payment from my boss." Izaya retorted.

"It won't be enough to cover everything."

Ignoring Mr. Akiyama's attempt to shaken him up, he unlocked his phone, the contact on the screen showing 'Kine' written in big bold letters before Izaya switched to another contact after much contemplation.

 _Kine wouldn't be as effective._

He brought the device up to his ear and waited for the receiver to pick up. "Hello. Shiki-san?" Izaya lolled his head back in relaxation, knowing he'd already won this round. He just had to resist the urge to laugh. They couldn't punish him if he could solve the problem.

And Orihara Izaya is always capable of doing so, if he wishes to.

"Do you think I can get the pay in advance?"

"Our principal here is demanding for it. I'll do a good job on the work you've given me, you know that."

"If you're not convinced, I'll give you discount then!"

Mr. Akiyama and Mr. Fujiwara watched as Izaya spoke on the phone. He seemed very casual with this 'boss' of his. It kind of made them wonder what sort of part-time job Izaya took. Although with that smart brain of his, it'd be easy for him to get a job almost anywhere.

"There's someone who'd like to speak with you." Izaya finally stopped chattering with the person on the call, handing his phone to Mr. Akiyama with a victorious smile. It definitely roused suspicion.

"Awakusu's excecutive, Shiki Haruya speaking." came the voice from the phone.

"Yes, I'd like to speak about Orihara Iz-" Mr. Akiyama started, lifting his cup to take a sip of his coffee but before he could even swallow a drop, he ended up spitting it back out. "A-Awakusu?"

Izaya with his quick reflex managed to shield himself using a cushion that was before supporting his back on the chair. Mr. Fujiwara didn't say anything about the liquid landing on his face as he blinked in surprise at the name of a powerful organization.

"It's fine. We can prolong the reparation. T-The kids don't need to use the laboratory."

"There are more damage but we can cover some of them."

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Mr. Akiyama emitted a sigh as soon as the call ended -from relief of it being over, or disappointment of the failure of their pain, no one knows- and returned the phone back to Izaya before turning his swivel chair around to face the other way. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the grin on Izaya's face.

"You may go."

.

.

* * *

 **Note: I wasn't really proud of this chapter but I managed to pull myself up with the help of my qt friend, lucie and all of you guys who commented and enjoyed the story. I'm really thankful for all the time you put into leaving comments, favorites and even read my fic. Thanks so much! This is the last failed attempt at pranking Izaya. We'll be going back to the current setting for the next chapter. I'm hyped! (୨୧ ❛ᴗ❛)✧ Enjoy!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Dotachin, did you buy it?"

Izaya spun around in his seat to look at Kadota, resting his chin on the back of his chair. He twirled the mechanical pencil in his hand although he'd stopped working on the assignment fifteen minutes ago. It was only for show—to show that he was perfectly capable of finishing the task alone. They didn't need to know that he grew bored and distracted so fast, even though it was obvious he'd been out to find the frog and caterpillar.

Stretching a hand out, Izaya enclosed his fingers around the can of coffee, "I'll pay you later!"

"He always says that…" Kadota muttered to himself with a sigh.

"Have you finis-"

The four of them had been together for awhile now, over a year and yet he was still shocked every time Izaya did something like this out of nowhere. Kadota couldn't finish his sentence when Izaya brandished a knife in the classroom. That kind of weapon was certainly prohibited by the school but it wasn't like Izaya liked to follow rules.

"Shizu-chan!"

Izaya frowned and swung the tip of the knife towards his head. Only with a closer inspection did Kadota notice the caterpillar Izaya decided to 'gift' Shizuo with was placed on the crown of Izaya's head.

"Ha! How do you like that now?" Shizuo laughed rather proudly, his hands set on his hips. It was as though he'd created a masterpiece. Izaya begged to differ as he smiled at his arch-enemy and still attempted to stab or swipe the caterpillar off his head, Kadota couldn't figure that one out.

"Ne, Shizu-chan… When someone gives you something, you're not supposed to return it." said Izaya.

It took a nudge of Izaya's knife against the belly of the small larva to make Shizuo give in (which wasn't much at all) and come running towards Izaya to stop him.

"Don't kill it!"

"If you don't take it back-"

"I'll take it off! Put your knife away!"

Izaya stubbornly tugged at his wrist which Shizuo restrained in order to save the caterpillar from dying at Izaya's hand. Even though it was a gift from Izaya, he wouldn't want the innocent thing to be hurt.

"Izaya!"

Frowning, Izaya finally stopped struggling, giving Shizuo a chance to find a piece of paper from any desk he laid his eyes upon -which turned out to be Izaya's notes about Russia- and scooped the caterpillar onto it. Shizuo then went over to windowsill to put the paper down on the ledge carefully.

 _With everyone trying to be so mean today…._

Kadota smiled at the sight before him as he watched Izaya's expression turn from sulky to one of realization before he rushed over to Shizuo and bickered about how important the paper was and Shizuo must retrieve it.

 _It's good to see at least these two have been normal._

"Guys!"

Hiroto came dashing into the class with a big smile on his face,

"We need to go to the library."

Everyone immediately jumped in excitement at the sound of visiting another place other than their classroom. A place with air conditioning at that! Half of the students quickly packed the things they needed for the subject and walked alongside each other to the other part of the building.

Shizuo, too, went back to his desk to grab his books. He regarded Izaya's whine about the loss of his notes with a simple wave of his hand and an 'I'll take it back later.' Izaya wasn't quite satisfied with the answer.

There was only about four hours left until school ended. None of them had cleaning duties after classes today either, which was _perfect_ for Shinra.

Izaya really couldn't have picked a better day to make it his birthday.

"I heard there's a new ice cream place near the train station." Shizuo said as he recalled the information Kasuka told him yesterday.

"I really want to try that soybean flavor they have." Shinra chirped in, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose before reaching over to give Izaya a light pat on the back.

If there was a chance to get on Izaya's nerves, Shinra didn't let it pass by without an attempt.

"Ah, it's a shame Orihara-kun can't go," he said, "You have to do that assignment, right?"

Izaya angled his head to the side to gaze at Shinra. The books in his arms, he dumped them all in Shinra's hands, right atop of Shinra's books along with his pencil case. Anger which he predicted to be painted on Izaya's expression wasn't there.

"I'd rather get sushi than that sickeningly sweet ice confection."

Izaya gave a breathy, gleeful laugh and walked ahead, leaving his bespectacled friend sighing upon having to carry twice the weight he was carrying before.

 _Of course, it's not easy to beat Izaya._

"Wait up!" shouted Shinra and he ran over to catch up with Izaya.

Unbeknown to them, there stood a shadow behind the wall nearby, paying close attention to their conversation. The feet belonged to a brunette shuffled out of hiding once the students disappeared into the library.

"Here you are, Orihara Izaya." The brunette couldn't suppress a snicker, their arms folded across the chest— counting down until the time to strike.

.

.

"Open your textbook to page 29. I want you to finish that exercise for today."

Kadota and Shinra exchanged a glance while Izaya had himself busy flipping through his book to find the right page. After a silent nod came from Shinra, Kadota cleared his throat and slid his own book towards Izaya who was seated right next to him.

"How do you do this?" he asked and pointed at the first question.

As if he was used to this, Izaya lifted his pencil, immediately tending to Kadota. Meanwhile, Shizuo didn't bother being subtle whilst he attempted to peer at their work. It caught Izaya's attention, but Izaya didn't say anything about it. Instead, he fixed the book's position so that both Kadota and Shizuo could see the solution he was jotting down.

"Here, use this formula. See if you can expand it." Izaya circled the formula given at the corner of the page.

"With x2-xy-6y2+2x-y+1, if we factor the x's like this…"

Kadota kept nodding understandingly during the lesson. Well, that was until he received a kick to his legs underneath the table. He had to purse his lips to contain a pained groan from slipping out due to Shinra's attack.

"…This is what we get. x2-(y-2)x-6y2-y+1. That equals x2-(y-2)x-(…."

"I still don't understand." he cut Izaya off mid sentence.

It felt bad to lie to Izaya like this. Kadota wasn't really fond of lies. Lies could tear relationships apart but what else could he do? He had to contribute to the plan at some point and this was the time. Truthfully, Izaya was a good teacher. He often understood things Izaya taught.

"The way you're explaining it is complicated." Shinra stated in a strong, matter-of-fact tone.

"What? How else can you explain it?"

"There's a simpler way."

Shizuo blinked when the two chatterboxes started quarreling again. Things seemed to be tense between them today. It made him wonder if he was better than Kadota at mathematics, because he actually got something from what Izaya taught.

"I kind of understood it."

"See, Shizu-chan did!"

What Izaya said flew over Shinra's head, however. Shinra gestured Kadota to lean forward and closer towards him in order for him to teach, which Kadota complied with. Izaya's fingers fell onto the cold surface of the table without resistance when Kadota took his book from underneath Izaya's hands.

"I'll help you, Kyohei!"

Kadota had to turn his head away since he couldn't mask the grimace on his face, bottom lip caught between the set of his teeth and he forced himself to lie yet again, "Oh, it's like that."

"This is how you do it, Orihara-kun." Shinra leered, catching a glimpse of Izaya's puzzled expression.

"I see," Izaya flashed a grin and set his pencil aside with a happy demeanor, leaning back and looking out of the window behind him as he hummed under his breath.

Little did anyone know, Shizuo caught the grin dissipating into a small smile, one of which the only reason Izaya kept it on was because of his refusal to lose to Shinra. His gaze seemed sad as it drooped ever so slightly, set on the clouds but it was clear that his mind was elsewhere.

Izaya was like a child, in Shizuo's opinion.

Izaya had no friends, a lonely person, and in turn decided to bring trouble so everyone would pay attention to him. It was something a child would do when things don't go their way. After all, the best and fastest way to gain attention is by negativity. He claimed to be brought up in a normal family but Shizuo wasn't sure what was normal to Izaya.

Izaya was a coward. He wanted people to be close to him yet he kept pushing them away before they could get past his guarded heart. Shizuo was sick of seeing Izaya's arrogant smile that remained in-tact even when the occasion didn't call for it, as if he'd lose if he showed the emotions he bottled inside. Shizuo deemed someone to be more courageous when they're not afraid to express their true feelings.

But Izaya was a person Shizuo hated the most. Izaya liked to play sick pranks on people for his own amusement. He claimed to love humanity nevertheless of his ways of showing love seemed to contradict that. The correct word here should be 'fascination' instead of 'love'. Shizuo hated Izaya for Izaya didn't have a short temper and abnormal strength. No, he had an intelligent mind and good looks, yet he threw all of his chances to be happy away—just to play scientist using living souls' sentiments.

"Does Shizu-chan need help with question 2?"

Kishitani Shinra thought he was the only one who knew Orihara Izaya well, but he was wrong.

.

.

* * *

 **Note: I said this a lot but really, thank you for reading and commenting. I'm truly happy when I see people enjoying this story. I didn't know it'd get so much love. Every time I receive notifications from you guys telling me you loved the chapter, I feel motivated, hyped to write the next chapter and I end up smiling a lot! It makes my heart feel warm. Thank you so much. I love you all.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Two hours of math is really not good for my brain."

Shizuo gave Kadota a nod of agreement, "Science was boring too."

"I think science was wonderful! We learnt more about the human body and-" Shinra began, but his sentence died as quickly as it came with Shizuo's glare boring into him that he expected a pen to shoot through his shoulder soon if he carried on. He tried to made up to Shizuo by sharing some good news, "Well, good thing our English teacher is absent."

"She's absent?" Izaya popped out of nowhere and dumped his books in Shinra's hands once again before giving them a cheery wave as he walked backwards towards the opposite way of their classroom, "I'm going to have a little stroll, then!"

Shinra frowned, "Where is he going now?"

Izaya tucked his hands into his pants, finally facing the right way, and he breathed in the fresh air from the small garden of potted flowers arranged neatly along the road. It felt comforting after having to sit through Shinra's glances which by the way, said 'I-am-better-than-you'.

"Orihara Izaya."

God forbid his peace last long.

Quirking a brow, he met the sight of angry looking boys before him. They were all well equipped with the usual weapons, baseball bats, planks, and metal pipes. It was the same group he'd sent to challenge Shizuo, too— that for a brief moment he thought they mistook him for Shizuo (he didn't even have blonde hair!) until the leader continued further.

"Kishitani Shinra sent us."

"Interesting," Izaya straightened his arm, the switchblade he hid in his sleeve drawn out and landing right on his awaiting palm. It was flicked open with a quick rotate of wrist, and with his beady stare fixed on the opponent— he trailed his tongue along the blade, grinning. "I'm honored that you'd ditch your class for me."

It would make more sense, more convincing if they were to say that Shizuo sent them. Izaya didn't even need to think about why Shizuo would do so, but with Shinra, it turned to be a bit more complicated than he was comfortable of.

Of course, the boys would always charge first, so he had fun dodging the attacks fired at him. Come to think of it, he hadn't had his daily brawl with Shizuo, which made this sufficient for now to satiate him. With every attempt to land a hit on him, he retaliated with a slash of his blade in spots he knew to be able to make them fall unconscious.

"Ah, I miscalculated." Izaya panted.

This fight wasn't fair. Izaya was outnumbered. He predicted it to be easy to work his way through but they'd managed to corner him to a dead end. If this was anytime else, he could've used them as jumping platforms but they surely would harm him then, with this amount of people.

"Wait till I stab you with your own knife." The leader surprised him while he was engrossed in scanning over the others, seizing his wrist to snatch his switchblade. But Izaya wouldn't let it go without a fight. He quickly extended his arm to get his hand back on it, fingers curling around the upper part since the leader was already holding the shaft.

The blade was starting to cut its way in, blood oozing when the sharp edges dragged across his palm, and he wondered if he should've just given up on his favorite weapon since it was getting painful— too painful, actually. His hand trembled from the intruding object penetrating his hand, halfway in and perhaps to pierce through the back of his hand shortly.

It turned out he didn't need to make a choice when he heard a yell of a name from behind him.

"Daisuke!"

Izaya whipped his head around, barely dodging the baseball bat that came in his way. He was thankful for it, though, as he leaped in the air and foot falling back on the wooden bat as leverage for him to hop over the crowd at a better height—finally making his escape. It wasn't going as intended. The fight was taking longer than it should, so the safest way would be to flee.

As fun as it'd be fighting on his birthday, he'd underestimated Shinra.

"Don't want to be late for class now." Izaya beamed at them, feet touching the ground again before turning to dash with his attackers following suit.

Izaya didn't go far, deciding to put his skills to use by taking a risk of climbing to the roof (even with the others getting closer) instead of escaping further, placing his feet on the stacked boxes and reaching for the tree. A boy got to him at the right time and he yanked at Izaya's leg to restrain Izaya from running off.

A hiss he couldn't stifle spilled out as the rough surface of tree trunk scraped across his skin, causing his already injured palm to worsen. He gritted his teeth and suppressed the pain, turning around to swiftly swing his leg at his attackers. They retreated for a split second and it was all Izaya needed to carry on.

Izaya hauled himself up with the fire escape, scaling to the rooftop. He didn't let himself take any rest but continued to sprint down the stairs and to the classroom, in case they were still going out their merry way to hunt him down. He did, however, permit himself to rest in front of the door to catch his breath.

It was important to show Shinra that he wasn't swayed by all this, Izaya mused to himself, wiping the sweat off his bangs with the back of his palm.

 _Of all days to pick on me? He just had to choose today._

He leaned his head against the door, a wry smile carved on his lips and Izaya had to swallow the incoming fit of laughter at all the bad things happening on his birthday.

When he stepped in, the first thing he did was make his way to his so-called friend.

"What are you planning?" Crimson gaze narrowed into slits, and he stood by Shinra's desk, fingers twitching near his pocket. He really wished he still had his switchblade. The least he could do after what Shinra had orchestrated upon him was to threaten Shinra with his blade. He probably wouldn't get scared, but having the tip pointed under Shinra's neck would be the first step.

"Orihara-kun! What do you mean?"

"You sent that gang to me. I don't know what you're gaining… and you've been acting really off today."

For the first time, Shinra was genuinely clueless. He hadn't asked any gang to go after Izaya. Though he did practically tell everyone to give Izaya a bad time, so it all boiled down to his fault, anyway.

"Is it because of my birthday?" Izaya pressed on further.

Shinra was amazed it took this long for Izaya to finally figure it all out, but he wasn't done playing. He hadn't finished the decorations back at home and the cake was still at the bakery, so he had to drag out the plan until about five to six pm. What good would it be to end it like this?

Shinra feigned shock, "It's your birthday? Ah, I forgot about that, I'm sorry," He got up and threw his arms around Izaya, catching his friend off-guard with the sudden affection.

"Happy birthday, Orihara-kun!"

"Happy birthday, Izaya." Kadota joined in with a smile, and soon the rest of the class. All except Shizuo who only watched from the side.

This was what Izaya wanted but it would be a lie to say that he was happy with it. When Shinra hugged him, he felt the warmth radiating off of Shinra, seeping into his very being and making him want to fall back into Shinra's embrace to rest after a tiring day— yet he could feel something painful twisting inside of him the longer the hug lingered. It was sort of puzzling.

Izaya scrutinized Shinra's expression with his sharp gaze, looking out for any telltale sign of a lie. He was good at detecting lies of humanity. However, Shinra wasn't just _any_ human. He barely fit into the category, and Shinra was good at lying. He could lie to just anyone and even Celty (though he would feel bad for being untruthful towards Celty, unlike Izaya who'd lied to him a lot in the past and it'd just be payback).

Drawing a deep breath, Izaya's eyes lit up, "It is in fact my birthday today. Thank you. I'll be expecting gifts!" His index finger gave Shinra's watch a little tap as though telling them that he'd be anticipating presents by the end of the day. He spared Shinra a glance, then his good hand moving to slam on the desk, "Don't mess with me anymore. I'm going home early."

Izaya walked over to his desk to get his bag, ignoring Shinra prating on useless matters (he didn't care to listen) and forgetting about his wound in the midst of his annoyance towards Shinra. Shizuo caught a glimpse of the blood. It was a blurry image but he thought he'd seen something.

"That's weird."

"What is it?" asked Kadota.

Shizuo rubbed at the back of his head in confusion as he mulled over what he noticed -although he couldn't discern what it really was- when Izaya rushed by them, brows knitted and pondering if it was just a mistake or Izaya had been up to no good again. He wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.

"I thought I saw something red."

A boy stepped into the classroom just as Izaya was about to make his exit. It was a grand entrance, pushing the sliding doors open like he was someone important. He wasn't, though, Izaya knew that. That face was no stranger to Izaya.

"Oh, it's nice meeting you again." He greeted Izaya, hand on his abdomen and he bowed, as if mocking.

"I don't think I granted you permission to show your face in front of me." said Izaya.

"Although it certainly looks better now," Izaya simpered and tilted his head, fingers acting as a frame as he held them up in the form of rectangle in front of the boy, "after the procedure Shinra gave you."

" _Who's that?"_

" _From another school?"_

" _He's kind of handsome…"_

Shinra turned to see what the commotion was all about, with all the girls going crazy and didn't bother to keep the noise down. It was outside his expectation to find out the reason why. Gasping, his eyes widened, and he muttered under his breath, "What's Nakura doing here? Did… Did the news travel that far? I didn't tell anyone outside!"

Kadota and Shizuo could only blink. They hadn't gotten a clue of what Shinra was rambling about, but perhaps it was regarding that boy who wore a different school uniform, standing by the door with Izaya. Whoever this Nakura was, Shizuo would like to thank him, for being able to set that slightest hint of distress on Izaya's exterior.

"I'm just meeting Shinra for an after school ice cream date. He'd been saying that he loves the soybean one." Nakura gave a nonchalant shrug.

Izaya chewed on his lower lip, fist clenching around the strap of his bag—brain linking the connections between Nakura's words and Shinra's. The similarity was definitely evident. It made him wonder if Shinra actually went out of his way to contact Nakura. Shinra was strange enough to do so even with someone who'd stabbed him.

Nonetheless, he snorted with laughter at the absurdity, "Don't make laugh. Shinra and you aren't even friends."

"Why's that? Is it because he's yours? I don't remember anyone liking your company."

Izaya remained silent this time around, expression amused while his gaze followed Nakura's movement with a glint of interest. Nakura appeared to be exuding confidence today from the way he kept their distance close and used a carefree tone when he spoke.

It was like he didn't remember Izaya swore revenge upon his life.

"Say, Izaya," Nakura circled around Izaya's frame, and with a whisper, he offered a little push to the already cracked heart.

"You wouldn't know what we do behind your back."

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 **Note: I'm so exhausted so I'll reply to everyone's comments tomorrow, okay? (It seems like people rarely use PMs here, so I don't really reply to reviews and I feel sort of bad. ㅠㅠ If you want me to reply to you, send me a PM or comment on ao3!) It's getting very, very late. But I'm so happy that I managed to finish this chapter for you. I hope you'll enjoy it! Thank you again for all the love you've given to this story. ( ^ー^ )**


	10. Chapter 10

"Don't assume just because I took the blame for that incident," Izaya let out a chortle, "that you're getting away with this." the gap between him and Nakura decreasing once he stepped closer, dangerous stare shooting Nakura down yet a smile of amusement was painted on his lips.

Izaya looked deranged and it was starting to frighten Nakura.

He schemed to bring about the collapse of Orihara Izaya, but he'd chosen a false opening to confront Izaya. After the good job Shinra did to break Izaya -he'd been monitoring from the beginning-, he thought it would only be simple from here onwards, _which turned out to be wrong_ , he thought, while he watched his target turn the tables on him effortlessly.

Clearly Nakura had bitten off more than he could chew.

"It was your own fault that you got into trouble with your father for stealing from his wallet, yet you blamed me. You joined on your own accord, didn't place bets based on your own luck, and instead followed those who won… that I received complaints about a kid stalking them. It must've been karma!"

Nakura meekly accepted Izaya's insults that came with such composure that it crushed his bravery. Keeping his silence was all that he could manage in this state, or Izaya would probably attack him for the lack of politeness. He could barely meet Izaya's eyes, only opting for his nose as a safe route, and Izaya only took this opportunity to intimidate him further by pushing his forehead against Nakura's.

"Ah, maybe that wasn't enough to make you harbor this kind of hatred towards me. Could it be because your life has been hard since that day? What's this? You can't expect life to only have ups. After all, you _did_ commit a crime. Even though the police got to me instead, it should've been plenty for you—but you still dare to threaten me."

Izaya sighed, smile in-tact, and he spread his arms wide uncaring of those watching eyes observing them—not when his own held a glint, fascination and not quite there, as if immersed in his own world.

"The thirst humans have for vengeance is amazing!"

"And here you think that you could hold Shinra against me, with a piece of information I'm yet to verify if it's true. This person called Orihara Izaya isn't the type who'd believe over a mere one source. Misjudging your opponent is the worst you could do, Nakura-kun. Now, what excuse do you have for acting like this?" A quirk of a brow, and Izaya forced him back to the past with a sentence that started this, something he wanted to overlook because it'd been his fault for associating himself with Izaya. He should've realized sooner that Izaya was a person to not be messed with.

" _I only meant to scare you?"_ Izaya took the words from his former self, sending shivers down his spine.

It only took a slip of hand into Nakura's pocket before Izaya jerked the hidden weapon out and spun it quickly and lightly around in his hand,"It's what you said back then, isn't it? Are you trying to relive that moment?" and he aimed the tip of the knife to Nakura's skin as a warning, drawing blood.

"If you desire so, then I will see you more often from now on."

"See me more often-?"

"W-what do you mean-"

"Izaya, I-I wasn't trying to do anything!"

After letting the knife fall to the floor with a clang, Izaya turned around to make his exit once more, his movement sluggish as he tried to keep himself together.

His head was spinning, sight faintly disoriented and all his heart wished for was to escape the suffocating room. It was spacious but somehow the walls seemed to be closing in on him. He'd given his all to put on a façade, and now it was starting to eat him up inside. Slowly, throughout the day, until he could no longer support himself from losing it.

Izaya only managed to take several steps towards the door until Nakura's fingers enclosed around his wrist, stopping him from leaving.

"W-wait! It was a mistake! I didn't mean to-" came the frantic yells from Nakura, who tugged at his wrist whenever he tried to free it off his grasp. Izaya couldn't be bothered to revel in the mess he made out of Nakura. It wasn't the time to. He felt nauseous.

"Please listen, I'm sorr-!"

Everything was too much.

No one saw it coming—Orihara Izaya doubling over and throwing up onto the floor. The retching sounds caught everyone's attention, even Shizuo who didn't care about Nakura's dealings with Izaya. Everyone was taken off-guard at the scene unfolding before them while Izaya grimaced at the sight of brownish liquid on the floor, throat feeling scratchy.

When he finally came to and tipped his head back up in exhaustion, his eyes widened, lips parted in a silent gasp upon realizing what he'd done, and how each person in class was no longer looking at Nakura but him in his moment of weakness that he'd been trying so hard to put off.

It was only a matter of time before he crumbled.

Izaya staggered to his feet, nails scraping against the wall to gain his footing quick so he could flee, all he could think about was how he'd have to get away. Perhaps he could tell them that he wasn't feeling well later, but for now, he didn't belong there. The taste of vomit was still lingering in his mouth, and he swallowed while he ran, dashing past onlookers and bumping into teachers until he arrived where his feet had brought him, where his knees immediately gave up.

"What did you say to Izaya?"

Nakura turned his head to see Shinra right up in his face smiling and it didn't seem like a reunion greeting at all, especially with Kadota at the back, cracking his knuckles and gaze directed at him. He could only swallow the fear building up inside him, body already trembling.

"Shizuo, can you help us find Izaya?"

Shizuo gave Kadota an incredulous look, still resting by his desk and sipping on the juice he bought during break. Kadota thought that Shizuo could prove to be effective after all the times he'd managed to find Izaya with just a blink of an eye. He did claim that he could sniff out Izaya's scent, didn't he?

"Ha? He probably went to the infirmary." Shizuo dismissed the request with a wave, but Shinra immediately interrupted.

"I don't think so. He's not sick, and he wouldn't want to be found after what happened."

"Then why did he throw up?"

"I guess the nerves finally got to him. He'd been bottling up his feelings all day."

"Yeah, cause you were bullying him so much. I couldn't even work out what you were doing, but I know why you're friends with him now," his fingers twitched and in no time, the juice box was crushed and Shizuo had his hand drenched in the drink, "You both like to hurt people."

A sigh flowed past Shinra's lips as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, sparing Shizuo a small, pleading smile.

"That's… not it, Shizuo. I'll explain later, so can you please help?"

"…"

"Sure. Whatever."

 _Thud._

 _Thud._

Footsteps.

He heard footsteps approaching the door to the rooftop, and faint calls of his name.

Izaya's hand was pressed to his mouth, he felt as though he was suffocating himself but he couldn't risk to get caught by anyone. Brows knitted, he lolled his head to the side in despair and drew in a sharp breath, knees pulled up to his chest as he sat against the wall. It was hard to breathe. For the past few minutes, he'd been trying his best, but he could only inhale short breaths before he started choking on gasps and his pained heart proceeded to hammer away inside his ribcage.

" _Happy birthday, Izaya."_

When the footsteps died down, he hung his head low, pulling his hand off his mouth just to pound the ground with his fist in exasperation.

He tried again. Sucking in air just to gasp, accompanied with several coughs as his breath rasped in his throat and beads of sweat already trickling down his forehead. It wasn't like him to be like this. Why did he ever let himself get close to Shinra?

" _It's why you don't have friends."_

Izaya never cared for love, preferring to not indulge himself in that sort of thing. No one in their right mind would say that Shinra loved him, either. But he made the mistake of expecting Shinra to remain by his side. Shinra was different, he wasn't the same as the humans he so loved -which was why Izaya never did toy with Shinra, aside from the fact that Shinra was his only friend- and definitely not the type that attracts people. In this case, he felt… betrayed.

He knew that what Nakura said was unlikely true. But what if it was? By the way things were going, and how people perceived him, it shouldn't have been a surprise for Shinra to turn his back against Izaya. He kept assuming that Shinra was probably scheming something but after being in Shinra's embrace, and having everyone wished him birthday, he'd grown more confused.

It's the way it'd always been. There were those who stayed for something, and there were those who left immediately. It was why he decided to avoid this kind of feeling in the first place, so he wouldn't be hurt.

" _You wouldn't know what we do behind your back."_

It would've been better if Shinra never got him so attached if he didn't plan to stay.

"Oi."

Still dazed, Izaya stopped rocking to and fro (since when was he doing that?) and found that the voice belonged to a blonde he was very familiar with.

"Stop breathing." Shizuo flat out muttered as soon as he noticed how erratic Izaya's breathing was. His posture nonchalant while he crouched down in front of Izaya, fingers curled around Izaya's chin and gaze boring through him. Shizuo had been searching half-heartedly until he remembered he'd forgotten his pack of cigarette on the rooftop, right at the spot where Izaya was sitting.

Izaya exhaled before breathing in deeply, no more gasps haunting him much to Shizuo's dismay— who let out a silent curse when Izaya did the opposite of what he told him to do, as usual. There was a bit of proud blossoming in his chest, however, to know that he'd saved someone's life, since such a moment was rare in his life. But Shizuo didn't let that feeling to overpower his hatred towards Izaya.

First came an astonished gaze, then laughter bubbled from Izaya's throat, and for once today, he had a genuine smile marring his face when he asked a question he already knew the answer to, "Out of everyone, why does it have to be Shizu-chan?"

It wasn't like he wanted to see Kadota nor Shinra.

"What are you laughing about?" Shizuo, irked, squinted at Izaya and his fists were clenched as though ready to strike if Izaya annoyed him.

His arms folded across his knees, Izaya leaned back, and not once did he pull his gaze away from Shizuo's as he flashed a teeth-baring grin which was unusual that Shizuo didn't know what to make of it, whether it was sincere or not. It looked foreign on Izaya's face, but not quite unpleasant either.

"I'm happy that you're the only constant thing in my life."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shizuo pressed on further.

"It's better if Shizu-chan doesn't understand."

"Tch," Shizuo scoffed and stood back up, finally recalling that Kadota and Shinra was still looking for Izaya when they heard Shinra's loud voice booming from below, probably searching around the field, "They're looking for you."

Releasing a breathy, gleeful laugh, Izaya was amused of the way Shizuo told him something he already knew of, but decided against addressing it.

He'd rather not anger Shizuo right now.

"How popular I am! I think I'll let them chase around for awhile seeing as I'm a bit tired. People's interest last longer when it comes to things they need to work hard for it."

Shizuo didn't understand how Izaya could still chatter around after almost dying. But this was Izaya, after all. He wouldn't be surprised to know that Izaya got up from being stabbed and still pranced about, devising plans to ruin another person's life.

"You're still acting tough after all that?" asked Shizuo.

He watched as those crimson eyes grow dim upon hearing his question, and Izaya seemed to ponder over what sort of answer he was going to give before he smiled, words coming off in a whisper it was almost as if he didn't want Shizuo to hear.

"If I don't, is there anyone who's going to do it for me?"


	11. Chapter 11

Shizuo didn't say more. He didn't have an answer to Izaya's question, convinced that there really was no one else that Izaya had other than Shinra. He would've listed Izaya's siblings but after Kasuka's debut (which happened not long ago at all), they appeared rather eager to sacrifice their brother in order to have Shizuo arrange them a meeting with Kasuka. From what Shizuo's heard, Izaya's parents were often away as well.

It turned out he only managed to go down a flight of stairs until he remembered the real reason he went to the rooftop in the first place. And it was not to find Izaya, despite being asked so by Shinra and Kadota. He hadn't even decided whether he should tell them regarding Izaya's whereabouts, though Izaya seemed like he didn't want Shizuo to. For some reason, albeit accidental, he even saved Izaya while he was on the point of death.

"Shit, I forgot." cursed Shizuo.

He made his way back to a grinning Izaya, who clearly expected him to do so, since he was holding something Shizuo had been searching for.

"Shizu-chan came here for this, right?" Izaya waved the pack of cigarettes around before holding it out to Shizuo, whose hand only came as close as to hover it when he caught of that something red again. This time, he could identify what it was.

"What happened to your hand?"

It seemed to be painful still. That much was obvious while Izaya prodded at the wound, brows slightly knitted but he looked like he just remembered that he was ever hurt. Not that anyone would act any different, after the emotional wreck that probably proved to be much more agonizing than the physical wound.

"I had a run-in with a gang. Ah? It stopped bleeding." muttered Izaya, trailing his fingertips over the scratches he received from the tree bark and avoiding any contact with the deep cut in the middle.

 _The gang he claimed Shinra sent after him?_

"Serves him right," Shizuo mused to himself, recalling all the gangs that Izaya had sent to him. Even though he defeated all of them, it was still a bother to waste his time on useless kids trying to test their abilities. What more, they were all hungry for power and control, wanting to be able to be the one to take down Heiwajima Shizuo, the strongest in Ikebukuro. Just like Izaya.

Shizuo never considered himself as an angel or some sort, but he was capable of feeling sorry towards those in pain, and that empathy often acted as a magnet to tug him to help the victim. Which was stupid, he thought— since he had _this strength_ blocking his opportunity to prove himself worthy of something, instead only making him cause destruction. This kind of gift would be better off with someone else. One who knew how to suppress it from going out of control, and was not him.

Jaw clenched, and with a pull of a handkerchief from his pocket, the cloth was wounded around Izaya's injured hand. The look of astonishment that was sure marring Izaya's face, he ignored as he tied the hems of the handkerchief together.

"I want to ask what's happening," Izaya gave a half-suppressed laugh and shook his head in disbelief, not making an effort to pull his hand away, "but I guess I'm dreaming if Shizu-chan is pitying me."

Izaya's lips were curved, head angled to the side when Shizuo finally looked at him. It agitated him a bit. Who was Izaya fooling with that empty smile? There were a lot of things Shizuo didn't know about Izaya, "What genre of music did he enjoy?" and "Would he eat the tail or head first of a taiyaki?" those answers remained unknown to him— but what Shizuo _did_ know was those expressions and actions Izaya orchestrated so carefully -thinking they were impenetrable- were cheap. It wasn't hard at all to peel off the layers with his gaze and instincts until he managed to see right through Izaya, baring everything Izaya tried to conceal.

"Don't think I'm easily defeated by a lousily put plan."

The empty smile turned into a smirk he was very familiar with. Izaya couldn't have picked a better way to thank him, could he?

"I don't have an ounce of pity for you." Shizuo retorted back. He inspected his work, turning Izaya's palm around to make sure the makeshift bandage was sufficient to keep the wound safe from getting infected.

"So it's not pity?"

"I was just going to say I don't need anyone's pity, what's more Shizu-chan's. How laughable!"

Biting his cheek, Shizuo tightened the knot he made before dropping Izaya's hand, a vein already popping on his forehead from listening to Izaya's chatter that he particularly didn't care about.

"Did Dotachin and Shinra tell you to do this?"

Shizuo grumbled, and Izaya took that as a no.

"What is going on here then?"

"Are you trying to prove that you're not a monster?"

It wasn't like it was the first time Shizuo managed to lay a hand on Izaya, but it still took Izaya off guard each time. He wore a surprised expression and Shizuo felt proud, satisfied to be able to entrap Izaya but the rage he was feeling was tremendous, not allowing him to be calm enough to taunt Izaya.

"Don't provoke me."

Shizuo seethed in anger, fingers gripping Izaya's shoulders to pin Izaya to the ground, making Izaya groan once his head collided with the hard ground. The grimace of pain on his face went as quickly as it came, and his crimson gaze glinted with challenge when their eyes met, triumphant smirk never wavering.

"And here I was just starting to think that Shizu-chan had gotten soft."

Fingers curling into fists, Shizuo held himself back from launching a punch to that smug face of his enemy. It was evident as he trembled from trying to contain his temper, before promptly getting off of Izaya to face the other way. He barely spared Izaya a glance before he walked over to the door, making his leave.

"You don't deserve such treatment." spat Shizuo.

"I wouldn't want it from someone like you."

Izaya's tone was confident, but with Shizuo's gaze not on him, he didn't bother to cover the sullen look on his face as he watched Shizuo head for the exit.

His heart felt troubled.

"To receive such hospitality from someone hateful…"

Swallowing, the corners of Izaya's lips curled upwards ever so slightly, "I don't want it."

Shizuo's figure was slowly getting farther, and Izaya won't be able to reach Shizuo soon. He had to decide whether he wanted to keep Shizuo around, or lose everything and everyone today. And it wasn't like Shizuo knew why he was willing to stick around longer than one second around Izaya, but he thought that it was the least he could do in this situation. Things hadn't been exactly normal today, and he could just put the blame on that.

"Hey," A soft whisper revealed the choice Izaya made, which intrigued Shizuo, and Izaya's two fingers held on to Shizuo's pant leg to give it a light tug.

Just light enough for Shizuo to notice.

"How will you know I won't cut this handkerchief into pieces?"

Shizuo looked over his shoulder, for once he wasn't sure of what to feel when he set his eyes on Izaya's. He wasn't seeing red, and Izaya had a faint smile painted on his lips, merely waiting for Shizuo to accept his sloppy proposal to stay. They both knew Izaya wouldn't be as ignorant as to damage a handkerchief that helped him, and Izaya didn't even know that Kasuka had given it to Shizuo. For all he cared, Shizuo could've bought it himself.

"Only for today, we can be different." Shizuo said as he wondered briefly if this was a bad idea, his steps completely coming to a halt even after Izaya's hand retreated, "Don't hide anymore."

Izaya was hesitant for a second but soon obliged, his expression falling and he really did look exhausted compared to the strong front Shizuo saw previously. Words were heavy on his tongue, taking him longer to form a sentence before his shoulders gave a short jolt as though he was about to laugh, but the laughter never came.

"What's so special about today?" he asked, the tone coming off rather sarcastic and filled with bitterness.

Shizuo shrugged in response, flicking his lighter to light his cigarette up before taking a drag of the cancer stick. Smoke flowed past his parted lips when he exhaled and with breeze blowing at his bleached strands, he finally turned to Izaya.

"Nothing."


	12. Chapter 12

One could never ask Izaya to act the way they want him to, whether or not it was a small request of showing kindness towards them, or clashing him against his beliefs for their amusement. Izaya refused to cater to others' desires and instead he was only ever obedient to his own. But there was one thing Izaya yearned for, yet he often chained himself from reaching it.

It was love.

If he ever succumbed to it, it'd consume him from inside out and he'd crave for more, which proved to be difficult when he couldn't draw people to him without them wanting reward out of it. It could also be a sign of weakness, as although Izaya appeared to have a strong front— he knew his heart was brittle. Even the pain from a small matter could send daggers to his heart, and then he was left to put a nonchalant act while he made a note to construct the shattered pieces of what's left of his feelings back whole.

What'd happen if he hit one wrong road, and love tore him apart until he could no longer recognize who Orihara Izaya was?

"But I can be selfish just this once, right?" he whispered lowly.

"Huh?"

He gave Shizuo's wrist a tug, causing Shizuo to fall seated and he took the chance to rest his head on Shizuo's lap, cheek pressed against the thigh. Izaya wished he could've seen the look on Shizuo's face but he didn't want to get hit just yet, so he opted to face the other way.

"…"

Sleepiness was clearly getting to Izaya as he blinked slowly, eyelids drooping and he allowed the warmth from Shizuo to lull him. It felt comforting to be in close contact with another person, despite it being _Shizuo_. Although he couldn't deny that it was better since it was Shizuo, because Shizuo expected nothing from Izaya, and he was the only one who'd stayed the same when he felt as though the world was turning against him. It was nothing new, but today they'd been picking him apart, causing his flaws to show one after another.

"It seems like everyone is toying with me today. It's not that I mind it-"

Izaya's fingertips brushed across the fabric of Shizuo's pants in absentmindedly drawn circles, sad musing gaze observing the clouds passing by in the sky. The words just spilled out of his mouth when Shinra was on his mind. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't mind if everyone was out to get him, their words laced with hatred coiling around his being and it was the way it'd always been. It wasn't suffocating. It was logical. Izaya hadn't exactly been kind towards them either. And humans loved to thrive on revenge.

"I've known Shinra for years. He was the first one to approach me in middle school, and be so relentless about it too. A lot of people said they wanted to be my friend, but they never put much effort into it. Shinra stuck out so much since he was annoying."

"And he only did it because of Celty, you know? I don't even know why I accepted his offer. He seemed interesting, and it was also a way to shut him up. I didn't really care."

Shinra was the only who'd ever showed him that much attention and with such persistence. He could've roped Izaya into admitting he was Shinra's friend when they met Celty, if Shinra only wanted that. They could've been acquaintances and nothing more— Izaya would stay the way he was, nose stuck in his books and eyes observing the passing figures around him with interest. But Shinra stuck by his side and became a friend he never knew he wanted.

It was hard to admit to the world that Shinra had grown to be a person he couldn't bear to lose, yet Izaya couldn't be dishonest to himself when his emotions stirred madly inside as he felt Shinra starting to slip through his fingers.

"But somehow," The tip of his tongue brushed across his teeth, and Izaya found himself almost having a second thought of uttering his next words, "It bothered me to feel him drifting away. And everyone seemed to be telling me so."

"He looked like he didn't care, so I'd just let him go and find a new friend. Heh. No use keeping a one-sided friendship." Shizuo responded, leaning back against the wall.

At that, Izaya turned around to meet Shizuo's eyes, surprised at the suggestion and he let out a laugh, because _of course_ Shizuo would do such thing while Izaya was left to ponder over and over again about what he should do. The differences between them never failed to be amusing, which was why Shizuo aroused his curiosity so much.

"Your way of thinking is simple as always."

"It must be nice to barely care like that. Like a prehistoric human being."

Izaya grinned, catching Shizuo's fist in his palm just in time it came in his way, his reflex astounding as always. He could make out a few veins popping on Shizuo's forehead when his irritated face came into view, hovering Izaya's and Izaya didn't find it intimidating at all while he unfolded Shizuo's curled fingers carelessly.

"Aah? Get off of me." Shizuo attempted to lift his leg to shake Izaya off but Izaya immediately countered the action, rolling towards Shizuo's abdomen.

"I don't want to."

"Since we can be different today, you're not allowed to treat me like you always do. That means no violence, to put it simply!"

Izaya watched as Shizuo's face contorted in an almost grimace, silence washing over him and he took a minute before replying, expression softening by the slightest.

"…I did say that."

"You need to be different too."

Izaya knew what Shizuo meant.

He was still so guarded.

Izaya couldn't bring himself to tell Shizuo how it hurt, how he was feeling, and instead only brought forth the ones he'd heavily sugarcoated as to not lose to himself. Superior was what he should feel for appearing tough but for once, he hated this pride. It was hard to admit that he, too, wanted to receive affection and truly be himself, stripped of all the walls he'd put up over the years.

"You can't hide like a coward that you are."

It was then that Shizuo's fingertips brushed across his skin, without any violence in them that used to send adrenaline pumping through his veins and instead there was only warmth this time. It felt nostalgic and made him wonder of the last time someone touched him that way, and _meant it_. His eyes swept over Shizuo to find no anger in those eyes, his tongue bereft of speech to contradict Shizuo's words.

Why couldn't he say anything?

Izaya's angled his head closer to Shizuo, brows knitted and he hid, _like the coward Shizuo said he was_. He hid the look of grief on his face, nudging his nose into Shizuo's shirt and fingers curling around Shizuo's hand which fingers he was just playing with a moment ago. His eyes fluttered shut and Izaya no longer uttered a word since then.

Shizuo wasn't supposed to look that way, with such gentleness etched on his face, especially towards Izaya.

He wasn't supposed to read Izaya like he only needed a scan over Izaya's facial features and there were words describing his whole life.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

"He fell asleep."

Shizuo rubbed at the back of his head, pursing his lips.

It was strange to him, since no one was ever that daring as to use him as a pillow before -perhaps Kasuka when they were younger- but he'd seen Izaya doing so with Kadota countless times before for an afternoon nap. Kadota didn't seem to mind it. But Shizuo wasn't used to this. What more— it was his enemy. That only added more complexity and Shizuo didn't know what to make of it.

"Am I supposed to stay here?"

Shizuo reached a hand into his pocket, pulling his phone out and opening it with a flick of his wrist, he briefly wondered if he should notify Shinra and Kadota of Izaya's location. Shinra's voice was beginning to irk him after about half an hour of hearing the same thing over and over again.

" _Orihara-kun!"_

There it was _again_. Gritting his teeth, Shizuo picked up an empty can nearby before chucking it towards the direction of Shinra's voice. This time came a yelp and Kadota's worried voice asking if Shinra was alright.

"Finally, some peace,"Shizuo sighed inwardly and switched the button hovering contacts to inbox instead. Perhaps he could tell those two later, when he could no longer stand Izaya's presence. Although Shizuo enjoyed silence, it was getting quite boring so he decided to check up on his friend.

[New message to Celty] Where are you?

Sure enough, Celty was quick at texting and a reply came almost immediately.

 **[Incoming text: Celty] Shizuo! I'm arranging presents on the table. There are so many… Wait! Shouldn't you be in school?**

[Reply to Celty] The teacher is absent. I'm still at school.

[Reply to Celty] Presents?

 **[Incoming text: Celty] I didn't say anything about presents! W-what presents?**

Shizuo quirked a brow at Celty's odd behavior. Why would Celty be arranging presents today? She'd never told him about any party she was working on, and Celty always told him _everything_. And even though Shizuo couldn't remember when Shinra birthday was, he was sure it wouldn't be on the same day as Izaya's.

 **[Incoming text: Kasuka] Nii-san, are we going to the ice-cream shop after school?**

[Reply to Kasuka] Let's go tomorrow. I have something to do today, I'm sorry.

[Reply to Celty] Something's going on. Is it for Izaya's birthday?

 **[Incoming text: Celty] …**

 **[Incoming text: Celty] How did you know it was his birthday?**

[Reply to Celty] Kadota told me.

[Reply to Celty] Shinra's been a jerk.

 **[Incoming text: Celty] Eh!?**

[Reply to Celty] You didn't know?

 **[Incoming text: Celty] No, no. I didn't know. What did he do? I'm going to teach him a lesson when he gets back.**

[Reply to Celty] This is so sketchy.

[Reply to Celty] He was such a bastard the whole day. But you said this party is for Izaya… Is this some kind of a sick joke he's doing?

[Reply to Celty] Ah, anyway, Izaya's with me right now.

[Reply to Celty] Celty?

 **[Incoming text: Celty] I'm sorry. I had to check the news to see if the world was ending when you said Izaya was with you.**

 **[Incoming text: Celty] He didn't say anything about this. I can't believe he'd do that.** (T△T) **I'm so disappointed in him…**

 **[Incoming text: Celty] Shinra just called me to say he's coming home soon.**

[Reply to Celty] Don't tell him anything.

 **[Incoming text: Celty]** You got it.

"I wish you'd sleep forever." Shizuo mumbled, gaze now fixated on Izaya's sleeping face.

There was the feeling of liquid on his skin and he shifted his hand to find it smeared with the blood from Izaya's wound. It appeared that he didn't do a good job with the makeshift bandage but Shizuo couldn't be bothered when Izaya stirred for a moment, but those crimson eyes didn't open, and -knowing Izaya was a light sleeper- Shizuo was thankful for that.

As much as Shizuo wanted Izaya to stop using him as a resting station, it'd do Izaya good to get some rest, and be quiet for once. He himself was growing sleepy.

Izaya proved to be much more vulnerable than he'd thought. Shizuo should've found this information to be useful, considering he'd been searching for ways to put Izaya down— but that wasn't the case. To him, it is immoral to torment someone with such sorrow, especially since emotions are something strong that could affect a person's life greatly. To this day, he still felt pain from the sight of people cowering from his strength, and they called him a monster even when he was just going about with his day. It'd be much easier to break someone's bones and send them to a hospital. That ought to teach them a lesson before meddling in his business.

Broken bones will heal but broken hearts often not.

Bzz.

Bzz.

Bzz.

Shizuo emitted a groan, opening his eyes to see the sky turning blood orange -when did he drift to sleep and for how long?- and it took him awhile to notice that it was his phone vibrating in his pocket that woke him up. He'd completely forgotten that he'd put it on vibrate to have Izaya stay asleep.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I've been searching everywhere for Orihara-kun! And you disappeared too! Wher-"

Shinra's voice came booming through the speaker as soon as he accepted the call. It was a mistake. Shizuo should've known from experience that he should check first before picking up. Several times before he'd picked up and the caller turned out to be Izaya, much to Shizuo's dismay.

Beep.

It wasn't a mistake, however, that he hung up on Shinra.

Bzz.

Another call came and Shizuo decided to check this time, the name appearing on the screen was 'Kadota'.

"Shizuo?"

"Oh, it's really you." he sighed in relief when he heard Kadota's voice, while Shinra in the background was complaining that Shizuo ended his call but not Kadota's.

"Have you seen Izaya?"

"He's with me."

"He's not dead, is he?" Shinra asked meekly.

"He is."

The two on the other line gasped and then it turned so silent Shizuo could've heard a pin drop. He didn't notice Izaya who had just woken up from the commotion, as Izaya kept quiet, blinking sleepily and observing Shizuo.

"I lied."

"Oh, thank God. Can you bring him to Shinra's house?"

"Why'd I do that?"

"Listen, Shizuo, we didn't mean for things to go this way…" Kadota began to explain and Shizuo finally understood the situation. Shinra's plan had spiraled out of control. Shizuo never had someone doing a birthday prank such as this for him but he was sure it wasn't supposed to go this way. People should be happy on their birthday, not gloomy.

In Shizuo's opinion, the plan should've been kept between those who were close to Izaya. Although Izaya had stated that he didn't care for the others but Shinra, he believed that was what drove Izaya to the edge. It was the way he'd felt after fighting a bunch of gangs just to see Izaya's face, which was the accompanying yet biggest piece to throw him into the darkness.

"We'll see you there."

Kadota ended the call with a hurried 'need to get the cake' before Shizuo could reply. Shizuo let his gaze linger on the screen, frown painted on his lips, and he flipped the phone shut with a sigh.

"To see Shizu-chan's face the first thing upon waking up is unusual," Izaya laughed, finally speaking up, "Who were you talking to?"

Turning his head to meet Izaya's eyes, he was surprised that he hadn't realized that Izaya was awake. He didn't think Izaya could handle a minute without saying anything. The answer to Izaya's question was at the tip of his tongue, but Shizuo chose something else to say, one which made those crimson eyes widened as it took Izaya off guard, before they finally relaxed and Izaya had the faintest smile on but Shizuo managed to catch it anyway.

"Happy birthday."

.

.

* * *

.

 **Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I changed the summary for this story so I hope it's better now... it was probably too simple before. Ah, if you want me to reply to your comment/thoughts regarding a chapter, please PM me and say so and I'll get back to you every time you leave a review, or you can PM me, or review and PM me (both). Up to you! Anyway, thank you for all the support and for reading the story!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Where are we going?"

Izaya shifted his gaze which was fixated on his and Shizuo's intertwined hands back to Shizuo, light breeze tousling their hair as they ran along the streets of Ikebukuro with adrenaline rushing through their veins. Only this time, they weren't chasing each other. It was almost like a dream, and he felt as though he was watching the scene unfold from someone else's perspective. But the smile painted on his lips stayed in-tact.

He didn't dislike it.

"Really now, Shizu-chan! A train station? If you wanted to elope, you could've just asked—"

"No!"

Shizuo finally answered him.

"We're not going home?" he asked again, "I need to pick Mairu and Kururi up."

"They're safe."

Izaya blinked, tipping his head to the side in confusion when Shizuo glanced at him. It was a relief to know that they hadn't gotten themselves kidnapped but it made him uncomfortable to think of who could've picked them up. If it was Shinra, there was no telling that Shinra wouldn't do the same of what he'd done towards Izaya to the twins.

Doing so without a motive was a bit odd, but Shinra had always been odd.

"Kadota… picked them up."

"Only Dotachin?"

Shizuo crinkled his nose at Izaya's many questions, tugging Izaya into the ice cream parlor nearby, deciding to change the topic of their conversation.

"I told Kasuka we'd go here together."

"But Shizu-chan brought me instead."

"I think I deserve some ice cream for tolerating you."

The first thing Izaya did when they got in was to observe the customers in the shop. Seeing the glint of interest in Izaya's eyes made him feel uneasy, so Shizuo turned to look at the various flavors they offered at the new ice cream parlor. The worker seemed polite as well— that definitely made him feel better.

"I'll get green tea."

Kasuka had told him that he loved green tea, and Shizuo never got around to try it since the green color reminded him of vegetables. But perhaps he could, now, although thinking of Kasuka made him feel kind of bad since he'd promised Kasuka that they'd come to the ice cream parlor together, but Shizuo cancelled the plan at last minute, and now he was there… with Orihara Izaya. Who would've thought?

Shizuo had decided to come here on a whim, thinking that he needed some time to buy before he decided whether he'd bring Izaya to Shinra's apartment or not. That, and -he wasn't sure if Izaya knew this- Izaya's stomach had been growling for food.

"Black sesame, please," Izaya's voice resonated from his left.

"That'll be 500 yen."

At that, Izaya turned away from the cashier, looking at Shizuo who blinked once, _twice_ , until he understood why Izaya was staring at him that way.

"I have to pay?"

"Of course! You brought me here. What kind of logic are you using?"

Shizuo seemed to realize, and he took his wallet out, first counting the amount of money he had left before he paid for their ice cream. He wondered if he'd made a wrong choice when he took the cone from the lady. The green tea ice cream really, really reminded him of vegetables— almost as if it'd taste like broccoli.

"Tch. What a brute," mumbled Izaya.

"Aaah?"

"Nothing!"

Izaya made a face.

"That's very unsanitary, Shizu-chan," Izaya blurted out, focusing on Shizuo's palm which had blood smeared across it. Shizuo ignored him, however, and his tongue darted out to have a taste of the green tea ice cream before his face contorted in slight grimace. It wasn't up to Shizuo's liking. He wasn't used to the taste of green tea, thus he decided right then that he couldn't eat the ice cream— or rather, he didn't want to.

Shizuo switched his cone with Izaya's while Izaya appeared to be distracted, snatching the black colored soft serve into his hand, the clean one.

"I don't want blood on my cone!"

A complaint came almost immediately as Izaya attempt to give the cone back to Shizuo, groaning in distaste.

"It's your own blood, idiot!" Shizuo retorted.

"Whoever it belongs to, it's still dirty! You have your own ice cream."

"It doesn't taste good."

"Then why did you order that!"

"Kasuka said it's good."

Shizuo pointed at the black sesame ice cream in his hand.

"This one's weird but good."

Izaya sighed in defeat, leaning back and he gave Shizuo a nod, both of them now focused on that ice cream. Meanwhile, the green tea ice cream in Izaya's hand was starting to melt from the warm weather.

"Black sesame tastes unique, it still has that sweet taste but just right. A bit on the savory side, too."

"Yeah, I like this one."

"…"

It was then that their gazes met, a brief moment of silence taking over when they realized the way they'd come to agree about something without quarreling. Izaya traced the pattern on the cone with his index finger before jutting his bottom lip out slightly, being the first to say something.

"Alright, but I'm not eating the cone."

"It's not good to waste food."

"Shizu-chan should eat it, since he's like an animal."

"What did you say?"

 _Beep._

 **[Incoming text: Kadota] We're done preparing so you can come now.**

Shizuo seethed with rage, the text had interrupted him from throwing the vase decoration on the table at Izaya.

"It's getting late, so let's go."

He didn't let Izaya ask more questions, grabbing Izaya's hand and leading him outside despite having glanced at the puzzled look Izaya was wearing on his face.

"Wait here, I need to call someone."

"He must be texting Celty," Izaya muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes once Shizuo left.

Shizuo didn't even hold his phone by his ear, instead he only kept on pressing on the keypads, eyes glued to the screen. He really didn't bother to lie properly. But Izaya complied, anyway. He stood by the ice cream parlor -reminded of the way he'd left Kururi just like this in the morning- until a few shadows looming over him caught his attention.

[Text: Celty] Celty?

 **[Incoming text: Celty] Yes? I'm here.**

[Reply: Celty] What should I do with Izaya?

 **[Incoming text: Celty] I think you should bring him to our apartment.**

 **[Incoming text: Celty] They need to reconcile.**

 **[Incoming text: Celty] I've been preparing for this party the whole day! :(**

 **[Incoming text: Celty] I understand that you don't want him to get hurt, though! But maybe having this party will make him feel better. He needs to face Shinra eventually too.**

[Reply to Celty] Oh. You're right.

[Reply to Celty] Thanks, Celty.

 **[Incoming text: Celty] No problem! ^_^**

 **[Incoming text: Celty] I'll see you when you get here later!**

"Huh?"

The onlookers whimpered in fear upon seeing the irritated expression on Shizuo's face while he bit into the ice cream without caring if it was cold.

Izaya was gone when he looked up from his phone.

"Ugh. He's always disappearing from my sight whenever he pleases."

"Do you remember selling our information to the yakuza? We were hospitalized for a week because of you!"

Was this another gang Shinra sent for him?

Izaya calculated there to be about five members in front of him. He hoped there wasn't more lurking in the dark corners of the alley they'd led Izaya into. Normally he wouldn't mind, but even one person was considered troublesome to him at this point.

"Heard it was your birthday."

The leader approached him, smacking the ice cream cone out of Izaya's hand, and it fell to the ground, green ice confection making a splat noise. Shizuo would've been angry to know that his money went to waste, thought Izaya.

"Happy birthday."

Surely it wasn't the first time he'd heard that, but it was still unpleasant as ever. It sounded fake and sarcastic. And it brought a frown to his face, lips kept shut even when the leader charged for him, attempting to attack Izaya with a pipe.

Izaya evaded the hit with his quick footing skills, using the wall as leverage to jump onto the leader's back, swiping the pipe into his hand to swing it towards a lackey's abdomen. It was a direct hit. Watching them fall with a pained groan, Izaya didn't notice someone creeping up behind him until they took a strike at his shoulder.

 **Why did I succumb to this ridiculous desire?**

"I still can't believe someone like you was allowed to be born into this world."

 **Unconsciously yearning for affection.**

He couldn't uncurl his fingers, instead they stayed balled into a fist as the knuckle collided with his attacker's cheek. Agility wasn't all that Izaya had. Even without his blades, Izaya could still put up a fist fight. He was never fond of it, though, but he never thought that when he actually had to resort to this, he couldn't control himself from using his all might to attack. Something in just snapped - **was this how Shizu-chan felt?** \- and his hands hurt but he continued to bash the other's head into the wall, his jaw clenched.

"Not much of a talker today, eh? I can picture Orihara Izaya having a birthday cake all alone—" came another taunt.

 **Enough, Izaya.**

He couldn't stop.

"—with no friends."

Shinra's face came into view in his mind, his mouth moving but Izaya couldn't make out what he was saying. The transition wasn't smooth as it kept on switching from one scene to another abruptly and making the sounds sounded like he was underwater.

All he could remember was Shinra's arms around him.

Shinra's fake smile.

Shinra's sharp, biting words.

Shinra-

 **Enough.**

Izaya released a shaky breath, his punches had finally ended and he let his hands fall to his sides, giving a scan over what he'd caused— it had him laughing. The red liquid splashed on the scattered bodies before his eyes sent shivers down his spine, bruised fingers trembling because he'd gone too far, too engrossed in resentment to notice the damage he was inflicting to the humans he'd claimed to love.

"What's it with today? Ha, have I switched luck with Shizu-chan? That'd explain it! He'd become so calm while I'm the target for all the bad things, and losing composure like this… isn't like myself."

His nails dug into his own thigh, having him jerk forward in pain while his gaze narrowed, brows knitted and Izaya pulled his hand back, cradling it to his chest as he stared ahead at the mess of unconscious bodies in silence.

"I'm a monster," he chuckled to himself, crimson eyes which more often than not held a fierce gleam brimming with tears.

"Izaya?"

"What the fuck happened to your hands?"

Shizuo decided to greet him by the time he left the alley. One look over Izaya's shoulder was all that Shizuo had to take for him to find out what had befallen, but Shizuo only grasped his hand, examining the discoloration and swelling on the usually soft skin. He'd never cease to be unpredictable.

There were beads of sweat dripping from Izaya's forehead, making his bangs damp while he brushed his fingers along them. His body was on the verge of collapsing yet Izaya held on to bits of strength he had left, which felt ridiculous at this point.

Who was he fooling with this false act of nonchalance?

"Where's your ice cream?"

Izaya only smiled.

"I threw it away, of course! Sharing saliva with Shizu-chan is something I ab-so-lutely refuse to do!"


	14. Chapter 14

"You better pay me back later."

Shizuo's glare bore through Izaya, his fingers tightening around Izaya's palm at the thought of wasting his money— And what more, the mere thought of Izaya worsening the condition of his hands after Shizuo had gone all the way to even use the handkerchief Kasuka gave him, it was starting to get on his nerves.

"Ungh."

There was a groan, and then came another, with sounds of shuffling this time. Shizuo's ears perked up over the noise, and a cold shudder ran through Izaya's spine. He could only nibble on his bottom lip, heart racing inside his chest even if he knew that it wasn't entirely his fault.

That it was fine for Shizuo to find out what took place in that alley.

"Did you hear that?" Shizuo asked.

"Where did he go? Gah, why didn't you hit that bastard?"

"I can't believe we lost."

"Wait, hey- Isn't that… Heiwajima Shizuo?"

It didn't take too long for Shizuo to figure out that the chatters came from the alley. He finally lifted his chin up to look over Izaya's shoulders, meeting the puzzled looks of the beaten up boys, and he eventually let go of Izaya's hand, making his way into the dark alley with Izaya following suit behind him.

"Aah? What happened here?"

"That Orihara Izaya did this to us."

"Y-yeah! We weren't even bothering him."

There was no hiding this fact. Although the last bit was a lie, it didn't matter. Izaya could see Shizuo's gaze falling onto the bruises on his hand, and it wasn't like Shizuo would believe anything he said anyway— so what's wrong with having a little fun in twisting the truth?

"You heard them," Izaya gave a half suppressed laugh, tipping his head to the side.

"Are you going to hit me now, Shizu-chan?"

How shameful, to go this far just to gain some sense of familiarity.

"You must be kidding me. Do you think I'm that stupid?"

Shizuo's expression was etched with irritation as his fist tightened before it darted out to grab at a lamp post nearby, uprooting it from the ground by the metal handle and he balanced it on his shoulder— surprising Izaya with the unexpected answer.

"They've attacked me before since you sent them to me. Why would you beat them up if you have no reason to?"

"Is that so… Hm, I didn't think Shizu-chan would recognize them."

"I don't. I just associate gangs with people who want to challenge my strength."

Izaya took a step back, fists balling in case a fight happened to break out between the two of them. He couldn't read Shizuo's next action. The weapon in Shizuo's hand raised a red flag for him, but of course, he was proved wrong once again when Shizuo tugged him to the side, swinging the metal pole to an attacker's abdomen and knocking him unconscious, while the others cower in fear even though they were just preparing to strike as well.

"I thought… you hated Orihara Izaya?" A boy mustered his courage to ask.

"I hate sneak attacks. They remind me of Izaya— and just so cowardice, cheap. Fight me face to face if you're so eager to challenge me."

Shizuo squinted, teeth gritting with annoyance, the pole in his hand snapping into half before he dropped it onto the ground.

"Anyway, he's my responsibility today. So come after him tomorrow."

 _Responsibility?_

He couldn't shrug off the nagging feeling at the back of his mind telling him there was something to what Shizuo had said before, that there was more to it. It made him ponder and ponder of what kind of responsibility Shizuo was referring to, gaze fixated on Shizuo's back as Shizuo grasped his hand and pulled him towards their next destination.

"You really like to drag me around, don't you?"

Who did Shizuo think he was fooling? The route they were taking was one to Shinra's place. He didn't want to admit it, but it made him feel betrayed. It wasn't like he'd grown to like Shizuo, but Shizuo was definitely the only person he presumed he had left.

"I don't think I know what's going on anymore. Haha. It was wrong of me to assume Shizu-chan was trustworthy. Ah, so laughable!"

"Do you want me to leave you here?"

It felt ridiculous but Izaya only continued to laugh as Shizuo's scrutinized him with his sharp gaze, wondering why he even bothered to lend a helping hand to someone who only made things more complicated for him.

"You know, if you're friends then act like you're friends. Seeing the both of you argue pisses me off."

"Everything pisses you off," Izaya retorted.

"You piss me off. Trust me and just come along."

"Why'd I trust Shizu-chan? It'd make more sense for me to rather trust Shinra than my nemesis."

Shizuo stared at him for a moment, steps coming to a halt before he released his clutch on Izaya.

"Fine, I was just trying to be that one person who's good to you. But since you won't work with me, just do whatever you want."

"No way— did you think you could redeem yourself by being kind to me? That part of you which is a monster won't change. Don't misunderstand now, there is no room for compassion in that heart of yours."

The corner of his lips curled up, tone teasing and he shouldn't have done it, because it only worsened the situation.

"I wonder why Shinra even bothered with you."

Izaya's gaze drooped at the mention of that familiar name, one that used to act as some sort of a shelter for him, as that person was the only one he could count on, the only one who'd care. Had he gone too far? Chasing after such love from the mass amount of people, and giving in to his own desires which ended up detaching himself from others all the while manipulating their emotions had made him so ugly.

Not even Shizuo would stay by his side now, due to the mixed signals he was giving off. He wanted the company that was being offered to him but Izaya refused to stoop low, putting his pride aside and appearing so pathetic. Yet by acting as though he was alright, he was lying to himself—he was pushing Shizuo away.

It frustrated him, like a maze without an exit.

And the worst part of it all was that he couldn't even blame himself for he was such a coward.

"Speak for yourself. If only Shizu-chan would cease to exist. Nobody would care."

"Yeah? I helped you and this is how you thank me? I know that you were shit, but don't bite the hand that feeds you," Shizuo furrowed his brows, almost seething in anger yet something seemed to hold him back.

"And can you stop that?

"What?"

"Pretending you don't want to cry. It's not like I wanted to notice that, but it's hard not to. It confuses me of what the fuck you want from me."

Words felt heavy on his tongue, but he still chose the ones with sharp, biting remarks and laced with lies despite being caught. There was no other way to avert Shizuo's attention from his eyes which glistened with tears.

 _Even when you're on your knees, you shouldn't display your weakness._

"After being with me for a day without our usual banter, it doesn't mean you know everything about me."

"With the way you're going, no one will ever know you."

"Not even you yourself, right, Orihara-kun?"

There wasn't really anything he could register after that, only the hitching of his breath upon hearing that voice, and the feeling of a pair of hands on his shoulders. Shizuo's fingers encircling around his wrist was the least of his worries— in fact he was grateful for it felt like an anchor, keeping him from slipping away, a connection between him and the world.

"Shinra."

Shizuo's words only confirmed what he was dreading over.


	15. Chapter 15

"I was afraid that you wouldn't come."

Shinra felt sorry for causing the colour to drain from his friend's face, letting go of those frail shoulders when Izaya stumbled over to Shizuo, who only tugged Izaya to stay behind him instead. Although all he should be feeling at the time was apologetic, but it was amusing— who'd have thought that he'd live to see the day where these two actually act this way?

Watching Izaya seek cover from that one person he'd claimed to despise so much… It was the moment he'd been waiting for.

"I said I'd bring him over," Shizuo retorted.

"You were taking too long, and Celty got very worried! Since she was worried, I got worried too. I don't want my beloved to feel such uncertainty. That's why I always declare my love towards her every day."

It was probably not the time to be joking around, but he couldn't help himself, he had to lighten the mood up.

The way Izaya tensed from being a little too close to him was worrying.

"I'm going home."

Izaya muttered, gaze fixated on Shizuo after sparing Shinra a disinterested glance.

"Are you going to hold me back?"

 _Puppy._

 _That's what Shizuo is, listening to what Shinra tells him to do._

"No."

Even Shinra had a look of surprise on, both of them staring at Shizuo in disbelief before Izaya drew his gaze to the ground and eventually turned his back towards them, there wasn't even a hint of hesitation in his steps as he left the scene.

Shinra did consider chasing after Izaya, but the hand grasping his shirt stopped him from doing so.

"What? Wait, I thought you said you'd take him to my place?"

"He wants to go home," Shizuo lit up a cigarette.

"Why'd I stop him?"

"You could've convinced Orihara-kun."

"He'd be better off alone."

"You know, Shizuo, I'm starting to wonder whose side is it that you're on."

.

.

Darkness greeted his sight once he woke up, body aching due to the uncomfortable floor he'd been laying on. Izaya sat up with a groan, wondering was it that he fell asleep by the front door and rubbing the nape of his neck before getting back on his feet to switch on the lights. The house seemed void of presence other than Izaya himself.

It was surprisingly silent without the usual chatters of his sisters.

"Kururi?"

"Mairu?"

The voices he was starting to miss never responded.

Everywhere he looked, there was no sign of them.

"Have they finally gone and got rid of themselves?"

Izaya crouched down, laughter bubbling from his throat as though he was in disbelief, and knowing that (finally) no eyes were observing, the smile he had on vanished within seconds— thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose.

"And they just had to choose today, too."

…

"Such troublesome sisters."

"I'll just go to bed."

.

.

It was better to live in loneliness than to get close to people just to get yourself hurt. That was what he thought of, and he was right. Although he didn't have many people in his life that he could call friends, it only meant that losing Shinra would have a great impact on him, since he'd be left with no one by his side.

It wasn't like they had a special relationship, but he'd grown to be fond of Shinra nevertheless.

However, detaching from people completely— it'd be very lonely.

Even with Shinra around, it wasn't enough for the greed he had for reciprocated love overpowered him, and despite being able to hide it behind the mask he wore so often, it consumed him from inside out.

Sometimes he could only ask himself why did he let his desires act as a barrier, keeping him from approaching others on a personal level?

.

"It's quiet."

.

Contrary to popular beliefs, it didn't take much to cause Orihara Izaya to fall.

.

The room was dark and he held a hand out, barely able to make out the outline of his fingers, and he scrutinized it lazily before the silence bothered him. It didn't seem like he could doze off with so much on his mind. He used to think that the sounds of Kururi and Mairu playing around as something irritating, but he'd give anything for them to scream and run about right now.

Perhaps it was the desperation for human contact speaking.

Izaya sat up on the bed, gaze darting from one corner to another but he failed to find anything interesting enough in the room that'd occupy his mind instead of the events of today. It was difficult to figure out whether it was his mind tricking him, or his body really did need some rest, but either way, his eyes refused to flutter shut. Who knew who else would jump out and stain his sheets with red if he let his guard down?

"Someone who'd do that, huh?"

He drew in a long breath, closing his eyes.

"That'd be…"

.

"Shizu-chan."

.

.

When he came to, eyes half lidded, he saw trees and the starry night sky, and there was gentle breeze blowing at the strands of his hair. His clothing had changed to a simple baby blue hoodie and black shorts. And the thing that caught his attention the most was the person who was standing before him, in the middle of the empty road.

"Ah, we… ran out of milk. Wait- why do I need to explain myself to you?"

Shizuo frowned, brows knitted, earning a laugh from Izaya because he could never figure Shizuo out. This kind of simplicity, only doing what he feels right without any calculations— Izaya could never do something like that. Just as he was starting to think that Shizuo was the same as the others, betraying him, he acted the opposite and let Izaya leave.

It made him wonder when will it be that Shizuo would actually play by the rules?

"It must be easy for Shizu-chan to live life like that. After what happened, I didn't think you'd be so uncaring about it," Izaya flashed a grin, the corners of his lips stretched out.

"Why did you let me go? It was the perfect chance to hand me over to Shinra."

"Even _I_ wouldn't hit somebody who's already down."

"So you think I'm weak."

"Not in the sense you're thinking of."

"Why won't you just admit that it's the same as what I assume?"

"Because you're nowhere near weak, Izaya."

His lips threatened to curve upside down, but he kept the smile in-tact instead, fingers clutching the hem of his hoodie and he pondered over the truth in Shizuo's words. It felt ridiculous to think that it brought comfort, knowing that someone still considered that he was anything else other than a coward.

He never wanted Shizuo to read him like this.

Izaya didn't like this.

Shizuo knew just what he wanted.

"Say, what'd it be like if we become friends?"

It wasn't in his expertise to be able to analyse Heiwajima Shizuo— the look Shizuo gave him after he proposed the idea, and the lack of words that came with it. But Shizuo didn't seem to reject the idea. It would be hard to erase his memory of all the cunning schemes Izaya had inflicted on him, but it was intriguing, wasn't it? Would their lives become better, or would they become the dangerous pair, even more than they already were?

"Why are you out here?" Shizuo didn't answer his question.

 _Everywhere was suffocating._

He smiled, the words he wanted to utter weighed heavily on his tongue and with his hands tucked into the front pockets of his hoodie, he lolled his head to the side in a lazy manner, attempting to enrage the beast once again.

"I wanted to get some fresh air. What'd Shizu-chan know? He'd probably be snoring at this time if it wasn't for the milk."

"Ha, yeah, says the idiot who never sleeps."

Unfazed by the teasing, Shizuo pointed at the dark circles under his eyes, or he'd rather say, prodded them because Shizuo was just _that childish_. Izaya didn't complain, however, and trailed behind Shizuo when Shizuo started walking again. Only the sound of milk sloshing around in the carton filled the area, _that_ , and his footsteps that caught Shizuo's attention.

"Stop following me."

"I'm just going in the same direction as you."

"To my house?"

"I'm not going to visit the monster's lair at this time of night. Who knows what's waiting for me there! Although it might be fun to see your family. Hm, what do they think of an utter failure like you? I wonder. A mistake that shouldn't have been born?"

"So annoying," Shizuo grumbled.

"Go away, then."

"Is Shizu-chan angry?"

Izaya's steps ceased when Shizuo stopped in his tracks, glancing at him yet Shizuo looked past the expression he was wearing, offering another hand and he wondered how someone could have that much patience after he'd denied that outstretched hand several times before. Was it because they made a promise to be different today? Although they barely kept it—

 _How gullible._

If Shizuo didn't have his strength, he'd be trampled on all over by now.

That kind of naivety would destroy a person in this world.

"Do you need company?"

.

The day isn't over yet.


	16. Chapter 16

They walked side by side, and he wondered if any of them even knew where they were going— if there was a destination. Shizuo certainly appeared as though he was well aware of it, but who knew what was going on in that head of his? Izaya wouldn't be surprised if they somehow end up at a dump site.

"There's no one at home."

"Huh? Oh," Shizuo's brows furrowed for a moment, confusion etched on his face before it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Do you know where they are?"

Shizuo didn't answer.

"So that's what going on. I shouldn't be surprised."

"I didn't think Shinra would turn even my own sisters against me."

"Since when did you care about them?"

"I have always been."

"Ha?"

He finally managed to divert Shizuo's attention back to him.

Exhaling a deep sigh, Izaya let his chin hang low, and as if on cue, tears were already building up in his eyes. It didn't take much to fool Shizuo— yet he'd never expected that the words of his true feelings would flow out of his mouth so freely. If only it could've been that way when he wasn't acting, then perhaps things could've gone smoother.

"It's lonely acting tough, but if I don't, how will I survive the underground? I've seen how people let their emotions control them, and building relationships just to drive knives into each other's backs after. Only Shinra was able to get through me. But even then, there's only Celty in his eyes. He would leave me for Celty. In the end I only have my sisters, who'd surely leave me too. Do you think it's easy…? I don't have anyone I can be myself with."

It was unfair that he was the only one hurting— to be the only one baring his weakness, and to Shizuo nonetheless.

"And now, as you can see, my only friend is walking out of my life unannounced. I don't even know what I did wrong, but if even he's tired of me, then I really don't know what to do. I envy you. Despite that scary strength, there are a lot of people who sticks by your side. It's really unfair."

How pathetic.

"I didn't know, Izaya-"

"Didn't know what?"

"That it was this hard on you— Shit-"

Shizuo should be hurting too.

"Pff. Haha!"

"Don't tell me that you really did believe me?"

"What-?"

"I never knew Shizu-chan had such a soft heart. You'd think that after watching countless of gangs beg for mercy like this that Shizu-chan would at least be aware of this tactic. Haha!"

"Bastard!"

There was a roar and Izaya grinned, clutching his stomach as he broke into a fit of laughter, but it was cut short when a fist collided with his cheek, sending him stumbling a few steps back before his back hit the brick wall behind harshly when Shizuo pushed him against it.

Shizuo was still holding himself back, fingers trembling yet he didn't throw another punch.

Disgusting.

 _Disgusting._

 _Monsters shouldn't act this way._

"You're lying through your teeth even now," Shizuo seethed in anger, hands that were pinning Izaya against the wall dug into Izaya's shoulders— and if he didn't restrain himself that moment, there would've been sounds of bones cracking underneath his palms.

"What's so bad about showing me the real you, huh? You coward!"

"This is the real me. Surely Shizu-chan wasn't expecting another side of me, one who's very sensitive, kind and _loves you_."

Izaya chuckled and spat the last part with a hint of disgust.

"I expected nothing of you. But you can't tell me that that look on your face, throughout the day, didn't come from your heart! If there's any bits of heart left in there."

That made him frown.

He couldn't tell what Shizuo was doing. Why was Shizuo so keen at getting him to spill out his thoughts, tell all of the sob stories he'd bottled up inside? They were supposed to be enemies. Izaya couldn't deny that Shizuo was similar to him in aspects that they were both not ordinary, and have received snarky remarks and glares from those around them.

Even so, the 4th of May only lasts 24 hours— and soon, this will be over. Knowing that everything will end soon brought confusion onto Izaya. How was he supposed to act like? Accept Shizuo's company just to be robbed of it after, left alone and heart full of wounds, or keep a distance between them so he could protect himself?

Either way, he would only have himself when the sun rises.

"Don't act like you know everything. You, of all people, wouldn't understand."

"Have you tried?" Shizuo prodded further.

"Do you feel so exposed? That I can see through your shit? Is that why you're pushing me away now?"

"It'll no longer be my birthday after this, and Shizu-chan will no longer care as well. What's the point? You'll forget all of this."

"How'd you know that?"

"Because Shizu-chan is just like the others."

That hit the spot. Shizuo raised his fist, aiming it right at Izaya's nose and if he angled it right he could've broken that nose but his knuckles only came as close as the bridge of Izaya's nose, hovering over it shakily.

"Don't you dare say that."

"Are you going to do it?" Izaya asked with nonchalance, gesturing towards the fist.

"What do you take me for?"

"A monster."

 _Heh._

Izaya kept his eyes fixated on Shizuo's, gaze narrowing before he rested the back of his head against the wall and relaxed into the loosening grip that Shizuo had on his shoulders (he knew Shizuo gave up the moment his fist fell back to his side).

"I want to run away, but you always pull me back, Shizu-chan. Going back and forth like this is draining me."

"You know," Shizuo started.

"This is all just a prank."

"What?"

"It got out of hand. Shinra gathered everyone to play a prank on you for your birthday. The plan is to treat you coldly. Supposed to be a light thing or some shit, but clearly things became worse than he originally planned."

"Ha…" He had to stifle a chuckle.

Izaya shook his head, flashing a lopsided smile.

"To pull that kind of thing on me seconds after I lied to you, Shizu-chan? Did you think I'd believe you?"

"I'm not like you. The party's at his apartment. You need to go."

It only took one look into Shizuo's eyes for him to uncover the truth. He wished he could pull some strings right then, turning Shizuo's words into lies— and just making him angry as usual.

Izaya couldn't describe the feeling. He was frustrated, but he could feel his heart breaking. For once in his life, he didn't know what to do with this information and how to keep his composure from shattering.

"Shinra must be stupid if he thought that plan would work on me," he laughed, but they both heard how forced it sounded.

"I never cared for all these people he dragged into the plan. They don't hold a significant place in my heart. What's the difference when most of them already hate me?"

"But— did Shinra think he was important to me? How laughable."

And he laughed, but the way his brows knitted gave away what he was hiding underneath that mask to Shizuo, gaze unfocused and breath hitching accompanied with gasps.

"He's- nothing! I just tolerated him since he told me he had no friends, and he'd come in handy later on. Kishitani Shinra is just a boy who has an unhealthy obsession with a headless woman, and other than that, he's just your typical nerd who loves science, more specifically the human body. There is nothing special to him, and he's honestly annoyin-"

Izaya didn't know what to do.

"Fuck, Izaya! Stop. Just let yourself go for once."

It felt like Shizuo was scolding him. It was a funny sight, really, and he would've recorded it and played it every night in his room, laughing to it if there wasn't a tear trickling down his cheek despite how hard he tried to hold it back.

There were strong hands pushing him against the wall again, but it seemed as though they were only doing so to snap Izaya out of his trance, because after that they were placed against Izaya's closed eyelids, causing the blurry figure in front of him to disappear and only darkness remained.

"I'll take you to his apartment later. You don't want Shinra to see this, right?"

"I won't forget today, but I'll make this part an exception. I promise."

"I don't trust Shizu-chan," Izaya spoke, bottom lip caught between the set of his teeth and his words came off firmer than he appeared to be, back already slumping down the wall as the strength in his knees slowly gave away.

"You're not Orihara Izaya to me right now."

He thought he no longer had that ability to cry, after holding back many times, and only the worst grief could have Izaya doubled over, trembling and sniffling like a child. There he was, though, tears falling freely and he could feel the warmth from Shizuo's palm which was pressed against his eyes. It was dark but he didn't need to see the expression on Shizuo's face that way, as he whimpered and sobbed until his heart no longer hurt.

" _Then what am I?"_

" _Someone who just wants to be loved."_


	17. Chapter 17

It took longer than he thought for Izaya to stop crying, and really, he wouldn't have minded even if he had to stay there for an hour just covering those red, strained eyes because who knew how long had it been that the tears were held back?

Shizuo didn't know how to organize his thoughts now that things had gotten more complicated like this. This event had made him realize that Izaya wasn't all like he'd thought of—that there was a delicate part of him that Shizuo had never seen before. He'd always known that Izaya was a coward, hiding behind his masks and snide remarks but to see Izaya crumble before his eyes was still a surprise.

It felt like he wasn't supposed to see this.

The person in front of him felt foreign, that he almost thought he'd hurt someone again and they were crying because of his violent tendencies.

"Why didn't you participate in Shinra's plan?"

Izaya's voice brought him out of his stupor, nimble fingers encircling around his wrist to tug his hand aside, which was sticky from Izaya's tears but Shizuo wasn't going to make comments about that.

"He never told me, not even Kadota did. Uh, how do I say this," Shizuo scratched at the bridge of his nose, noting how Izaya's grasp on him lingered until there was the littlest hint of confusion on Izaya's face when he realized it and pushed Shizuo's hand out of the way, giving Shizuo a better view of the discoloured skin on Izaya's hand from the fight with the thugs.

He didn't really know what happened back there, but from the injuries on the boys, he had to admit Izaya was actually good at using his fists (which he didn't expect since all Izaya loved to use was his talkative mouth and knives), despite the knuckles getting bruised so easily compared to Shizuo's own.

It was comforting to see that it was clean from blood and a new bandage was wrapped neatly around the palm.

"It was kinda weird, how different they were treating you- especially Shinra, but they didn't include me in so I thought nothing of it, especially when it involved you."

They both knew Shizuo wouldn't have cared even if a truck hit Izaya.

"Before you accuse me of anything, I'd still choose the same route even if I'd known."

"I don't want it to be Shizu-chan."

"Huh?"

"Anyone, someone who only came to recognize me from the hushed whispers on the street of Ikebukuro, or an acquaintance of mine whose ties I can cut off at any moment, or even someone I can consider a friend. I want anyone but Shizu-chan," the truths, when sugar-coated seemed to be rolling off his tongue easily.

But— what he really wanted to say was locked behind his heart, only for Orihara Izaya to know. The twisted love he'd tried so hard to supress and the hatred he _grew_ the moment he saw those flames in Shizuo's eyes the first time they met, threatened to unleash. He was too proud to step down from his pedestal and be one of the humans he'd laughed at before, who was longing for any semblance of care.

Despite what was promised, everything would be gone the moment the sun comes up tomorrow, that much he was sure of. It'll disappear like it never happened.

"…but in the end, why did it have to be _you_?"

Shizuo didn't understand that part, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.

"Well, I'm sorry, I guess."

The sharp look Izaya was giving him only brought more confusion to his already muddled mind, the reddened eyes that still glistened with tears made him look rather docile, but from what he could observe, it seemed like Izaya was battling with himself (between appreciating Shizuo's presence and not liking the fact that it's Shizuo at the same time)— and Shizuo didn't hold that against Izaya, really, when he would've done the same thing if he was in Izaya's shoes.

Truth to be told, Shizuo still couldn't forget the destructions he'd caused with his own strength (though originally it was Izaya who provoked him into doing just that) which costed a fortune, and the way Izaya had framed him for murder, which also demanded a lot of money to get him bailed out of jail.

And his family had to bear the burden to do so, leaving him with guilt to know that he was only giving them trouble each time.

That was only a ¼ of how Izaya had ruined his life, and Shizuo really didn't wish to delve deeper into that right now.

"What do you _really_ want me to do? Do you wish I was Shinra?"

"Shinra wouldn't have been as gentle as Shizu-chan is being right now."

Was it the first time? Shizuo couldn't remember any words close to that being uttered towards him before. He paused for a moment, shock receding as he calculated the truthfulness of it. Putting aside the catastrophe Shinra had caused today, he didn't know how Shinra would treat Izaya.

Then again, Izaya never really let anyone see this side of him.

He wondered if Izaya wanted people to display such kind of tenderness when they're with him— and if Izaya's personality would change depending on that.

What _would_ it have been like if they were friends, then?

"Shouldn't friends comfort each other?"

"Me and Shinra aren't exactly what you'd define as normal friends."

"No shit."

"He'd… probably give me some advic- no, no. I don't know what he'd do anymore."

"We don't have to talk about this. Have you eaten?"

"I blacked out as soon as I reached home. Probably what Shizu-chan does daily, eh? But my muscles feel so sore now," Izaya gave him a sigh, massaging his own shoulder, "but no, I haven't eaten since yesterday."

"And you threw away the ice-cream I bought for you."

"Correction. The thugs did."

"I have a bit of money left. Come here."

"Will your mother be okay with this?"

"She'd be glad to know I'm helping someone," Shizuo paused for a moment.

"But I wouldn't be able to rest."

"I can't believe Shizu-chan is treating me again!"

Izaya let out a small laugh, his eyes felt itchy but he didn't dare to scratch it and be reminded of the moment of weakness he'd displayed earlier— instead his hand reached out to take the mentaiko onigiri from Shizuo, carefully tugging the packaging apart according to the instructions.

Shizuo had led them to the convenience store he went to earlier, and he left Izaya to sit on the curb outside while he went to get some food, where Izaya might add, Shizuo stared at a chocolate bar for approximately five minutes before he (probably) decided that he didn't have enough money for that.

Needless to say Izaya was a bit touched to know that Shizuo didn't switch his onigiri to the cheapest one and get the chocolate bar.

"It doesn't taste as bad as I thought… Do you eat this often?" the rice was good for food bought from a convenience store, and the salty caviar practically melted in his mouth.

"Huh? No. Just sometimes."

The words 'thank you' lingered on his tongue as he chewed the onigiri thoughtfully, reminding himself he should probably repay Shizuo for this in the future.

"What did Shizu-chan eat for dinner?"

"I wanted omurice, so mom made that."

" _Omurice?_ You could've picked something like curry or something. Even _I_ can cook omurice."

"Well, I miss her omurice, and I can't cook for shit, anyway. Where are your parents?"

"They're overseas."

He didn't miss the apologetic gaze Shizuo sent his way, fingers reaching for something in his pocket, which turned out to be his pack of cigarette (figures.), and he lit the one of the few sticks left in the pack. It made Izaya briefly wonder of how much second-hand smoke he'd inhaled while Shizuo was with him on the rooftop earlier.

"That… must feel lonely."

"Ah, but it doesn't feel that different from a few years ago, they weren't around often, anyway."

"If it was me, I'd miss the memories, still."

"Well, the house was exceptionally quiet today."

"Isn't that good?"

"What?"

"That it's quiet. You can rest. After all that chaotic stuff, I'd want some peaceful time-out."

"I suppose."

Izaya had been dreaming of moving out and living by himself, away from the twins, but now he wasn't so sure if it was a good idea.

Actually— maybe it was too soon to judge.

Today's events were messing with his head is all, he probably wouldn't even feel an ounce of loneliness when they part ways. It'd be good to have a break from the shrill voice and constant prodding while he's sleeping, plus his line of occupation made it unsuitable for them to be around.

They'd just be in the way.

Finishing the onigiri, he tossed the wrappings into the plastic bag Shizuo had been carrying from the convenience store, which Shizuo probably wouldn't even take home since he'd been drinking gulp after gulp of the milk he was supposed to buy for his house.

"I don't know when Kadota's gon' bring them back, s'ry."

"I suppose I have company now, but since it's Shizu-chan, it's not really enjoyable."

"A presence is still better than none at all."

"Is it fun to feel like a human for once?"

That came off sounding more of a taunt than he meant to.

If there was one thing he always prattled on about when it came to Shizuo was that how much of a monster Shizuo was, which he then used as a reason for his hatred. Since Izaya loved humans, it meant that Shizuo was an exception but despite not being able to love Shizuo on the same level as humans— instead of loving Shizuo more, he chose to hate Shizuo.

Because Shizuo also hated Izaya.

It would be foolish to love such a brainless monster while being hated, and though Izaya didn't care as much when it came to humans, Shizuo was a whole different matter.

"Stop trying to provoke me."

Izaya smiled at Shizuo's reply.

" _If Shizu-chan's more like a human, then I'll like you a bit more, perhaps?"_

That was a lie he'd told before.

It didn't seem as easy as he'd expected, well that's as far as thinking that Shizuo would ever come close to actually act like a human being, especially towards Izaya.

Yet there he was, once again, exceeding Izaya's expectations of him. How troublesome. To think that in the past days, the only way Shizuo had ever made him happy was by being entertaining and fun to mess with. Not because Shizuo was nice to him.

Now, however—

Izaya took a deep breath.

Having that small bit of happiness blooming inside him wasn't something he wanted to get used to.

What'd happen if he actually allowed himself to like Shizuo, without the restrained feelings and lies he told himself in attempt to blur such doting view?

Would Shizuo become one of his humans?

or would it develop into something more?

"Anyway, it feels good to know that I'm helping someone, but I don't know if it's doin' anything at all. I mean, I tried, but dunno if it was any good to you."

"Since when did you start to care for me?"

"The moment you asked me for it."

Shizuo passed him the milk, and Izaya wasn't originally going to take it (he preferred coffee), but only one mere onigiri wasn't going to satisfy his hunger that he'd been dealing with -now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten a proper meal since yesterday, there was only an ice cream when he sent the twins off and the coffee Kadota bought for him, which both he'd thrown up in classroom- for the whole day.

"I don't think I did?"

"On the rooftop."

"I'd never do such thing."

"If this is your way to retain some of your huge pride, _sure, you didn't_. I already know you can't even keep the promise we made."

The milk was still cool when he drank it, so he opted for some more, lips stayed puckered around the rim of the opening as what Shizuo said circled around in his mind.

Did that really happen?

It angered him that he couldn't recall if he did exactly that, ask _Shizuo_ for care and help. As of today, he'd let himself go far more than what he's usually comfortable with. And he wouldn't have mulled over it so much if they were just strangers that were passing by each other.

"So, do you blame Shinra?" it felt like a sensitive subject still, but he wanted to know what Shizuo thought of it, and he had to change the subject.

"Not really. He has his reasons. Things got out of control."

Izaya quirked a brow, head lolling to the side as he kept his gaze fixated on Shizuo with a newfound interest.

"Interesting, I thought Shizu-chan hated such discriminations."

"It makes sense, and he didn't mean to. I mean, I still think just buyin' a damn cake is still better than pranking anyone for a good laugh on their birthday. But that's not entirely his fault. It's just that you fucked so many people over that they took it too far trying to get their revenge on you."

"Hm. You really do have your smart moments, makes it hard for me to cope with."

"I wish you wouldn't cope with it."

"It'd be easier if Shizu-chan just die, ne? So I don't have to do that."

"And you'd too? I feel like you need support, and if I go," Shizuo took a long drag of his cigarette, almost as though it was the same amount of time for him to contemplate his next words before he exhaled, smoke flowing past his lips which had Izaya's nose crinkled over.

"…who knows what'd happen."

 _There he goes again._

"Showing off, aren't we?"

"Hah, well, it's rare of you to say any good thing about me."

There was an oddly cosy feeling in his chest, like a forgotten nostalgia coming back forth when Shizuo beamed a smile at him, ash from his cigarette stick falling to the ground from that flick of his finger, and Izaya was sure that Shizuo hadn't even realized that he was showing such sincere expression to someone he hated.

"…because there's nothing good about Shizu-chan," he returned the smile, accompanied with a small bout of laughter.

"Tch. As if you do. Hey, y'know, we probably should go soon."

"Are you going to take me to another convenience store for our wonderful date? No, could it be, an ice cream shop?"

"What are you even on about? We're going to Shinra's."

"Shin—"

"Oi."

 _Must all good things end so quickly?_

"Do I have to?

"Until when are you going to run away?"

"Why should I go to Shinra's?"

"To settle this shit, of course, unless you're going to avoid him forever."

"Isn't that what he wants me to do? Why should I conform to his expectations and hopes? A better choice here would be foiling his plan— despite how late I am, all of his hard work would go to waste."

Izaya knew he was babbling at this point, and he hoped that it all made sense, the words he was spewing out while Shizuo kept his eyes on Izaya.

It made Izaya feel more conscious, to be scrutinized like that, seen through, all of the panic that was building inside him, the anxiety— and by his nemesis no less, who'd never taken the time to do such thing before this.

"You're not telling me something," Shizuo murmured.

"Guess you're gon' hide again."

Shizuo's words had him feeling helpless. Brows knitted and frown etched on his lips, Izaya watched as Shizuo averted his gaze, hand brought up to skim his palm across the nape of his neck.

It frightened him that when a new day arrives, only an expression painted with loathing will greet him again.

"What's wrong?"

That was the softest he'd heard Shizuo's voice ever sound.

"Can I even say this?" Izaya started, and he didn't even mean say his thoughts out loud, but he couldn't go back now, because it's _Shizuo_ , and Shizuo will keep being persistent, and if Izaya didn't say anything, he'd just find out on his own anyway, by reading Izaya effortlessly.

Izaya didn't know when was it that he started to wear his heart on his sleeve.

"I never thought I'd be experiencing a Cinderella story. To fully submit to this, it comes with a risk of desiring it even tomorrow— although it's already slipping from my fingers with the ticking of the clock. Soon it'll be midnight, and I'll still want this tender treatment," there was a lump in his throat now, anxious fingers close to crushing the carton of milk in his hand.

This care.

This warmth.

He wante—

No.

He hated it.

It disgusted him to know that it'll be stripped away from him after having it dangled in front of his face, close enough for him to indulge in it even just for a moment, enough to feel the addicting effects.

"I know you've lived having wish for this kind of dependency, whether you're on the giving or receiving half. So tell me, can Shizu-chan give me such a thing?"

True to his prediction, Shizuo didn't respond.

"I thought so."


	18. Chapter 18

It felt ridiculous— feeling his heart wrench in pain, fingernails creating dents in the carton of milk in his hand. This was all because of the disappointment that his cowardice had brought with it.

What would _Shizuo_ know, anyway?

Despite that monstrous strength and temper shorter than the cigarette stick between Shizuo's chapped lips, there was still a number of people who enjoyed being by his side. Izaya wasn't sure what was it that they saw in Shizuo, something worthy enough to look past the stupidity of such existence.

 _Do they see this side of you every day?_

 _Do they treat you kindly every day?_

All Izaya had was Shinra.

"That makes me feel rather... envious."

It was a relief that Shizuo didn't hear those words he uttered despite how close they were sitting next to each other. He didn't know what Shizuo would've thought of if he knew. Izaya wondered if Shizuo would show him that kind expression to him more often— although that'd probably come with a price.

"Shizu-chan wants me to go, right?"

Shizuo frowned at the question, and Izaya didn't want to admit it, but perhaps Shizuo felt sorry towards him.

"Just sayin', you can talk to him tomorrow, but if it was me, I'd settle it right away cos I won't be able to sleep if I didn't."

"By 'settling it right away', do you mean by being violent?"

"Well, fuck, Izaya. If someone was being shit to me, I think that it's clear that they're asking me to punch their face in."

Izaya just laughed at Shizuo's remarks.

They were opposites.

If he'd gone by his heart, then Izaya would've chosen to run away. _Run_ to the nearest city and disappear for a week or so, like the coward he was, just enough time to mend himself until he comes back beaming with smiles and a plan for revenge hidden up in his sleeve.

Meanwhile Shizuo— well, to tell the truth, Izaya wasn't surprised to hear about this, since Shizuo was an impatient person that he would probably get mad if his milkshake took a little too long to be ready. Izaya could picture that happening in his head. But it didn't seem so bad to be that way. It only meant that he wouldn't have worries plaguing his mind for the rest of the week as the issue has already been addressed.

"All right."

"What?"

"It won't be fair if I let him win, ne? After all he's done, I don't want him to remember me by my weakness," that last word felt bitter on his tongue, saying it in front of his enemy, no less, "…if anyone's going to have the last laugh, that'd be me."

Images of the weak moments he'd displayed in front of Shizuo and even Nakura flashing before his eyes had him feeling agitated. He didn't want to be remembered as that, although he knew how humans would mostly remember things from the negative aspects of something. Therefore, they might do the same with him.

He was more than that.

"Uh, sure," Shizuo pursed his lips to the side, brows knitting; he wondered if Izaya was aware that they weren't going there to cause more chaos.

"I'll go, but before that, grant my wish."

"What is it?"

There was a faint smile on Izaya's lips then, his hand in the pocket of his hoodie and finger trailing along the sharp blade of his switchblade. He took longer to answer this time, as though he was savouring the moment.

"Fight me."

"I wouldn't mind killing you, but, _really_?"

"I think I need some familiarity back."

"Ha? Aren't you just using me?"

"I don't remember ever asking you to offer your help in the first place."

"Then you should've said nothing on the rooftop!"

"Again with the rooftop, I'm starting to think you regretted your decision," Izaya flicked his switchblade open and pointed the tip towards Shizuo's jugular, his familiar smirk playing on his lips but the feeling wasn't quite there, "won't you heal me, Shizu-chan?"

"Fuck it."

Shizuo didn't know why he was doing this, his body was acting on its own as if it really was used to this rendezvous of them, dodging every obstacles in his way so skilfully in order to reach Izaya— but ironically, he wasn't actually trying to do that today. He was only following Izaya's request, but in a way, he guessed that it was a selfish wish from his own part, too.

Something familiar would be great to get them back in the right track.

"Haha! Isn't this fun?"

Izaya was twirling around as he skipped down the streets which were only lit by dim street lamps that barely did anything to light the way (Shizuo secretly hoped that Izaya would run straight into a trashcan), the hood of his hoodie billowing in the wind. He seemed more like the Izaya Shizuo knew.

It wasn't like he wanted to gain such empathy towards Izaya, but after seeing how much of a wreck Izaya could be just from Shinra's poor execution of a plan, he couldn't help but to feel sorry. Truth to be told, he _didn't_ _want_ to be. Shizuo wasn't sure if Izaya would change and actually show his emotions from now on, and _stop bothering him_ after just one day of all this. It probably wasn't enough for Izaya who was so persistent.

If it's like that, then... should he give Izaya a little push?

"You should be aware of your surroundings, Shizu-chan," he heard Izaya's voice croon before there was a slash across his neck, the sharp blade stung when it made a cut in his skin, "Red is a good look on you."

Izaya looked proud of his artwork.

"It seems you're still the bastard I know," Shizuo flashed a grin—well, it appeared to be rather sarcastic when accompanied with the clenching of his jaw and grinding of teeth. _That_ , and the street lamp that he pulled out from the ground.

"What are you talking about? I wouldn't let myself to mull over something so small for a long time. It's time for me to rise back up."

The smile Izaya put on appeared more genuine this time, stepping to the side when Shizuo flung the street lamp in his direction. What Shizuo didn't expect was Izaya jumping onto it only to lunge at him for another attack he didn't have time to prepare for. Shizuo's shoulder was already bleeding by the time he realized it, blood staining his white shirt. It'd be such a hassle to clean that now.

"Isn't this taking it a bit too far? You're starting to really piss me off."

"We're just starting."

It was pissing him off too much. _Izaya's calm demeanor._ He'd thought that it was going to be a harmless little chase, but of course, nothing could ever be normal with Orihara Izaya, couldn't it? The lamp post he had in his hand snapped in two, sharp edges digging into his palms and drawing more blood.

Izaya led him to an alleyway after, and it was dark to see anything; he could barely see the outline of Izaya's figure. If only the street lamp in his clutch still worked, then it would've been better.

"You know, I wonder why Shizu-chan decided to act so kind to me today."

"Ha?"

"It's really not like Shizu-chan. Very out of character."

"Perhaps it's because you're so pitiful."

"I'm not pitiful."

"Can you _stop_ with that?"

"You need to stop as well— don't think you're less of a monster now."

There it was again, Izaya pushing him to his limit. Shizuo was starting to see a pattern here. Whenever he said something akin to Izaya's display of raw emotions earlier, he'd deny it and insult Shizuo. Did Izaya really think he had no feelings or something? Because that'd be pure bullshit.

"Shut up!"

A direct hit to the back of his head came out of nowhere, and it wasn't Izaya's doing, since his short arms couldn't reach that far. _So who was it?_ Shizuo turned around to meet a boy with light brown hair, only a tad bit shorter than him but definitely younger. The mysterious boy was holding a metal baseball bat, pointing it at Shizuo while he held a defensive stance.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Why should I tell you my name?" the boy answered Shizuo's question.

"I didn't know you were in the vicinity, Haruhi-san."

Izaya's voice rang in his ears, which made Shizuo grew angrier. He averted his gaze back to Izaya, who only stared at him back, arching a brow before unfolding his fingers to hold his palm up for Shizuo to see, switchblade falling to the ground with a clang.

"The fuck do you mean you don't know? You probably called him here."

"He did call me, told me to make you stop bothering him," Haruhi (now Shizuo knew his name, thanks to Izaya) said further, ignoring Izaya at this point.

"What are you talking about? You're here on your own whim," Izaya insisted.

This situation was difficult for him to even comprehend— the disappointed look on Izaya's face told Shizuo that he was being betrayed, that Haruhi was acting against Izaya, yet Haruhi's expression was nonchalant as though he was telling the truth.

It was only a choice of who to believe in.

Shizuo would trust Haruhi more than Izaya.

"Don't be shy, Orihara-san. I can be your knight in shining armor," Haruhi finally paid attention to Izaya, taking a step closer to him.

"This has nothing to do with you. Did Shiki-san send you here?"

Now who the fuck was Shiki-san? All this conversation was something Shizuo wasn't interested in since he couldn't understand a thing.

"Nope! I'm just here to help you out. I know you don't want to be around this monster, like you just told me on the phone, Orihara-san."

Shizuo's expression changed with Haruhi's words, getting real annoyed by this boy who was hot and cold, much like Izaya himself.

"Don't you know it's a common rule that you should not go against the boss?" Izaya whispered to Haruhi, expression darkening.

"What if the subordinate wants to see the boss bleed? You know, I heard that someone was throwing up because they couldn't handle a bit of pressure. Maybe they cried too? You would know."

"Rumors fly fast in this city, hm? But I'm sure the reason you're here is not because you want to protect me, Haruhi-san."

"You got me. I came here to join in the fun."

Izaya's fist still hurt, bluish bruises hadn't healed when it made contact with Haruhi's cheek, catching Haruhi off guard. It didn't faze Haruhi, though. He continued with the plan he'd devised before coming here, grabbing Izaya's fist when it came towards him the second time since he knew to expect it then.

"Heiwajima-san, he was faking it."

"What?" Shizuo furrowed his brows in confusion at Haruhi's words.

"Whatever he showed you, if he cried or throw up, was all an act to get you to sympathize with him, so he could use that to his advantage later. Don't you know Orihara-san? He's doesn't care for all of this. He was never affected by Kishitani's plans," Haruhi chuckled, shaking his head.

Izaya made a quick dive to retrieve his switchblade, attempting to stab Haruhi with it, but he didn't get to since Haruhi's next words changed everything, causing his surprised gaze to shot back to Shizuo.

" _He knew it from the start_."

"No—Shizu-chan—"

There was something noticeably different in Shizuo's eyes when their gazes met—something that wasn't quite humane. It was what Izaya wanted all along, right? To unleash that _thing_. But what ran through his mind when there were fingers encircled around his neck -and probably leaving bruises- was that maybe he'd made a mistake. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the absurdity of it all before sputtering, air being squeezed out of him.

 _Be careful of what you wish for, huh? I should remember that next time._

Then the world turned black.

But not for Shizuo, his became clearer.

How long had passed since then, he didn't know— but once he came to, the sight that greeted his eyes almost made him gag.

His hands were covered in blood, and a chunk of flesh he was sure he'd ripped off of someone stuck to his arm; red splashed on the fair skin. Did it belong to Izaya or the other guy? Shizuo didn't know, but he was sure of one thing— that it was his fingers that had gone ahead and tore it apart from the owner's body, like a ruthless beast that he'd sworn himself to never be one. Yet he always fell in fate's hands.

Shizuo only wanted to protect someone.

Who knew the one chance he got to protect a person, help them in any way possible, that it turned out to be Izaya? It was the worst person he could get. If he could give Izaya back to God, or whoever thought it was a great idea to gift Shizuo with the complex being that is Izaya, Shizuo would. Izaya was too complicated for a simple minded Shizuo. Izaya talked in riddles, hid his feelings behind a mask and loved thrills from causing chaos. All the things Shizuo wasn't an expert on.

He hung his head down; disappointed in himself once again, tremors shaking his body while sobs fall from his lips. There were no tears trickling down his cheeks, because Shizuo wouldn't let any fall. After such monstrosity, he didn't even dare to cry for it was something human does. And Shizuo didn't feel much like a human.

Splat sounds of something hitting flesh, causing blood to ooze out made him want to cover his ears, but if he moved an inch, would he go back to seeing red? With a quick, tired glance ahead, he saw Izaya stepping on Haruhi's unconscious form, more specifically, his head before he spat on it, cursing Haruhi's whole life. Perhaps Izaya _was_ right that Haruhi was telling lies. It was too late now, though. He should've weighed the options more before doing anything rash based on his temper.

Izaya limped to him then— he looked ragged, with a busted lip and a leg that was slightly twisted the wrong way (if it was painful, which Shizuo guessed so, Izaya didn't show it). The first thing that greeted Shizuo were arms enveloping him into an embrace, guiding his head towards Izaya's chest where he could see more damp spots which reeked of the metallic smell of blood.

"Are you this weak to be crying like this?" Izaya laughed, only to wheeze after.

Shizuo didn't respond.

It made Izaya sigh, knowing Shizuo had retreated into a shell, refusing to respond— all because of the guilt from hurting him and Haruhi (well, if he was to be honest, he was glad for what Shizuo did to Haruhi). Leaning away slightly, Izaya brought his hands up to cup Shizuo's cheeks in his palm, tipping Shizuo's head up to have a look at the face which he expected to be wet from tears. He was a little disappointed to see that that was not the case.

"I thought I could see you cry. What a shame."

"…"

"Well, Shizu-chan was just protecting me."

"Heh… I wanted to hurt you at the same time," Shizuo sounded tired, letting his head drop back down.

"That's not new, isn't it? But thank you, Shizu-chan."

Izaya let out a long exhale, his gaze was sad and fingers still in the air as he didn't drop his hands when Shizuo drew his head away, but soon enough they were tangled in the blond locks before his eyes, running through the strands because he didn't know— didn't know what to do with his shaky hands that he had to start touching his nemesis. How laughable.

Shizuo no longer said anything, and Izaya wasn't sure if Shizuo had ended up falling asleep.

"I think I've gained back that sense of familiarity that I wanted, but unlike what I thought, instead of being above everyone else- I can't resist these demanding feelings after all."

This is the story of two souls who had no place they belonged in, but still went on with their lives; unchanging, in hope that there'd come help to pull them from the dark pit of life, alone with only themselves to rely on.

They were both humans.


	19. Chapter 19

"Now I have an excuse."

Izaya was the first to break the silence, the pad of his finger brushing across his injured lips; they felt chapped, with a bit of dried blood stuck to them. His body felt fatigued, and every part ached but he had to put on an act of nonchalant in front of Shizuo. He couldn't risk Shizuo (who was now walking alongside him) curling up into a ball and shut him out again. They'd end up being in that alleyway until tomorrow if Izaya hadn't succeeded in coaxing Shizuo to leave, especially before Haruhi wakes up.

"To meet Shinra," he continued when Shizuo looked puzzled.

"Can you go like that?"

Shizuo noticed the pain he was in despite his attempt to hide it. Well— that was probably because of the grimace on his face and the fact that he was dragging his leg across the ground as he walked. The rocky road sent pain shooting up his body every time he crunched the rocks under the sole of his shoes. It made him wonder if he should ask Shizuo to set the bone back in place, although that could attract attention to them since he was sure he'd end up letting out a scream. It'd be amusing to see Shizuo being accused of assault. _That_ he couldn't deny.

"Do you want to carry me?"

He could see that Shizuo was definitely considering it, to Izaya's surprise.

"I was just kidding!" Izaya chortled, but his steps came to a halt anyway, "Is Shizu-chan feeling that bad? He'd never felt such remorse before."

"I'll carry you."

"Eh?"

"Here, just get on."

He could never understand Shizuo. What goes through his mind—what he feels when he's faced by complicated issues. Shizuo was complex in the way that he was too simple. Once Izaya thought he had Shizuo all figured out, Shizuo would just surprise him with an unexpected move. He could predict what others might do, but not _Shizuo_ , despite the said others also being simple-minded.

 _Heh, the only difference is that he's a beast,_ he thought as he climbed onto Shizuo's back; arms circled around Shizuo's necks.

"I can't believe I'm on a monster's back! Scary!"

"Stop calling me that."

It was odd to be this close to Shizuo, to the point where their bodies were pressed up against each other, putting aside the rooftop moment evening earlier, which by the way, he'd like to forget.

"Don't make me drop you," Shizuo warned him further.

"Then what is the point of Shizu-chan carrying me? I'm like a sheep being sent to the wolf's home, anyway."

"Shinra's not that bad."

"…"

"Ah, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right," Izaya let out a huff, running a hand through his hair, which felt stickier than he thought. Was his head bleeding? He didn't even notice, "What about me, Shizu-chan? I'm not that bad either, right?"

Hazel eyes stared back at him, and Izaya never noticed how the light made them appear gold, only then he had the time to actually scrutinize Shizuo's facial features— like the 5 o'clock shadow he had and the small scratch at the temple of his head, probably from Izaya's own nails when he attempted to freed himself from Shizuo's chokehold earlier.

"Yeah, today."

The answer brought him out of his stupor, causing him to be aware of how his fingertips almost grazed the defined jawline of the other that his gaze fell on before it trailed back up to Shizuo's eyes once he realized what he was doing.

"Only today?" he asked Shizuo, fingers retreating to rest against his own cheek in a casual manner.

"But only about 50%."

His nose scrunched up, Izaya leaned back as another huff slipped past his lips, hands now holding on to Shizuo's shoulders for support.

"How awful, Shizu-chan, to be biased towards Shinra but not me. After all, I've been keeping you company for the whole day."

"Heh," Shizuo decided against saying anything, only allowing himself to let out something akin to a half suppressed laugh; uncaring of how it ended up with Izaya pestering him, asking if Shizuo really did find his joke funny for once.

"Iza-nii!"

"Iza-nii… Shizuo-san…" (Iza-nii is on Shizuo-san's back?)

"There you are!"

The sight before him rendered him speechless. He hadn't even realized that they already reached their destination, the place he dreaded the most— or to be more exact, Shinra's apartment. Mairu and Kururi were there, with Kadota who exhaled a sigh of relief upon seeing them still in one piece (despite Izaya being on Shizuo's back, he was more glad to see all the limbs were still in-tact and Izaya was still breathing). It seemed like Shizuo had notified them. Why else would they be down here instead of partying back in Shinra's place, like he'd imagined them do even if the birthday boy wasn't there.

"Where have you been? You're always late!" Mairu stomped her foot on the ground, much like she did this morning. It almost made him smile, if he didn't know they were in on the plan as well.

"Miss…" (We missed you.)

Kururi was the first to take a step ahead and touch him, nimble fingers reaching out to tug at the pant leg of his black jeans, as she was too short to hold his hand.

"Happy birthday to me, eh?" Izaya tipped his head to the side, eyes forming crescents when he breathed out a gleeful laugh.

"I'm sorry, Izaya. It wasn't supposed to be like this and—"

"I know, Dotachin. I'll accept another coffee as an apology."

Kadota gave him a nod before flashing a smile. Truthfully, Kadota had always been good to him, which was why Izaya wasn't sure at first if he was also the perpetrator of this chaos alongside Shinra, but he'd figured that Shinra couldn't have done it all by himself. If it wasn't Shizuo… _who else_ was close to Shinra?

 _You should always expect the worse even from the kindest people._

"You got it. Tomorrow I'll get you the latte one!"

"Why…?" (Iza-nii, why are you being carried?)

"Yeah! Kuru-nee's right. You have legs, Iza-nii."

"Mm? Shizu-chan was too rough with me."

"Eeeeh? What was Iza-nii and Shizuo-san doing?"

"Yaoi…" (Yaoi things like in the magazines back at home?)

"Yao— Ouch!"

The hiss naturally came out with the punch to his nose. It felt like his nose was going to bleed, but Izaya was unfazed by it, his index finger and thumb rubbing the bridge of his nose while he chuckled, shaking his head, "Haha! Can you see this? The proof is laid out for everyone to see!"

"Stupid shit got into trouble ten hundred times."

"Ten hundred times? Shizu-chan, I know you didn't know how to count but— Ouch!"

"Confirmed…" (Confirmed, it was yaoi.)

"Iza-nii didn't deny it! But ten hundred times? Kuru-nee, we need to consult those people who did the Guinness World Records! Shizuo-san should get an award!"

"What the hell is _yaoi_?" Shizuo's brow arched in confusion.

"It's what Shizuo-san always do with Iza-nii!"

"Right…" (That's right.)

"Huh? Fighting, then?"

It only took a glance at Izaya's smug face to know that that wasn't the case, that it was something deeper than that. Shizuo racked his brain to see if he could remember seeing the word somewhere else before, since the Orihara siblings weren't much of a help at giving him a definition of the word. What he could vaguely recall was Kasuka showing him something on the internet, claiming it was the craze among the girls at school, and on the images he pulled up was of two guys k—

"Fuck."

"It's not good to curse in front of children, Shizu-chan."

"Do you want to go home?"

Kadota, who'd been watching the little banter from the side, asked. It did worry him a little to see all the injuries on Izaya's fair skin. Those would take a while to heal, and judging from the last time he saw Izaya (Izaya was still free from scars then), he probably got them all after school ended. Had Izaya even rested before coming here?

"Home…" (Home would be nice.)

"But we haven't eaten any cake!" Mairu frowned at her sister's reply before turning to look at Izaya again, "Do you really want to go home, Iza-nii?"

There was still blood on the blade when he brandished his knife out in the public, flipping it open with a flick of his wrist; crimson gaze trailing from the presences before him to the windows which were opened (he recognized it as Shinra's), curtains slightly flying to and fro due to the breeze. He was sure some red got to his chin as he casually rested it on the blade, lips jutting out as though he was contemplating.

"Go home? The fun has just started."

.

.

* * *

 **note: thank you so much for reading! you dont know how happy it made me feel to receive the reviews you guys left! and oh gosh i cant believe two thought the fic was ending, but to answer your question, no, it hasn't ended. it'll go on for a few more chapters so i hope youll stick with me through this journey ehehe (●´∀｀●)ﾌﾞﾊﾊﾊ thank you for being patient and waiting for a new chapter! 3**


	20. Chapter 20

The black rimmed glasses that fit perfectly on the bridge of Shinra's nose wasn't for show, not his way of showing that he was a nerd or a doctor (really, the lab coat he wore was enough for that). He really did have bad eyesight, after spending so much time under the light while he meticulously picked apart the corpse before him; sometimes with Shingen by his side, sometimes it was just him sat on the stool at ungodly hours.

It would've made sense for Shinra to not see without his glasses, but even with Izaya brandishing his knife right when the door swung open, he wasn't quick enough to notice it. In result, the first thing that greeted him wasn't Izaya's usual chirpy voice calling his name with the part 'Shin' being drawn out longer than necessary. It was a stab to the arm. He could only be thankful that Izaya didn't aim for the fatal spots on his body. Even then, did Izaya still like him as a friend?

That's right.

They were friends.

"Aha… welcome, Orihara-kun!" he couldn't express the small bout of laughter that fell from his lips, fingers calmly encircling around Izaya's wrist to tug the blade out of his skin before it penetrated even further.

The word peculiar had never been foreign when associated with him, but perhaps he really was peculiar for he was the only one who wasn't surprised by Izaya's move— the others had opposite reactions. There was particularly someone who lost composure the most, shadows shooting out of her being before Shinra could pull the blade out in a careful manner. Instead, she, _Celty_ was too blinded by anger towards Izaya to notice how much pain she was inflicting on him. Shinra felt a jerk when those black coils got to Izaya, roughly throwing him to the wall with no regards as though the frail body was a mere ragdoll. While sympathy was definitely bubbling inside his chest (especially after briefly scanning over the wounds Izaya collected in just one day, which was, rather interesting), he couldn't help but be more focused on the fact that Celty was worried of him and that fact alone.

"Celty, you cared! Ow."

[ DID IT HURT? I'M SORRY ] Celty frantically typed, fingers hitting the keys on her PDA so fast it was a wonder how she didn't end up with typos. For once, she wasn't pushing him away when he went ahead and wrapped his arms around her waist. He'd love for Izaya to stab him every day if this would be the outcome. Although, speaking of Izaya, Shinra's ear perked up at the sound of joint cracking, Izaya rolling his neck with a groan. His friend didn't seem fazed by the treatment he'd just received.

"Is the party over?" was the first thing Izaya chose to say, smiling like nothing had happened between them.

"It hadn't started since we're missing the star." Shinra replied.

"Can I trust those words?"

"Of course. What do you take me for?"

"You sent gangs after me. How can I believe such person?"

"I was partially involved, but it was Orihara-kun himself who'd made too many enemies."

His clever retorts had Izaya almost seething with rage, he could see that; with fingers balling into fists and brows knitting in irritation. Was it something to brag about? The fact that he could make Orihara Izaya lose control. _Though… Shizuo is way better than me at this_ , he thought to himself as he kept his gaze locked on Izaya, who was probably racking his brain to come up with a better reply, something that'd make him appear cool-headed and not affected by all this. As he'd said before, he knew Izaya well.

"I'm sure that feels good, hm?" Izaya gestured towards the stab wound on Shinra's arm, blood already noticeably seeping through the shirt.

"Certainly not the first time someone has stabbed me!"

It wasn't like Izaya had completely forgotten about the Nakura incident, but it certainly didn't cross his mind at the time. To see how collected Shinra was with everything, it felt unfair— he'd pay 50,000 yen to see Shinra suffer even a bit. He knew exactly how, but he wished he didn't have to resort to this cheap way of seeking revenge. It wasn't his style, but Izaya knew better than to lay a finger on Shinra again. He could really end up with more than one broken bone than he already had (his leg was starting to ache again once he paid any attention to it), and it was stupid to say but he still treasured Shinra after all. It wasn't like he had anyone else by his side to act like he was better than this.

"And you didn't even bother to call, Shinra! What a good friend you are."

"To be far, Orihara-kun, I thought you needed some time alone."

"Ha," Izaya breathed in, acting as though he didn't expect such reply from Shinra by now, "I feel like I should've stabbed you twice, to say the least."

"What else are you going to do?"

No one expected it coming— Izaya's hands reaching out to take Shinra's cheeks in his bruised, full of cuts palms as he pressed his lips against Shinra's in a rough, chaste kiss; feet drawing closer to the latter that he almost knocked Shinra over. There were gasps all around him but he took no mind of that, letting their teeth clash for a moment before he pursed his mouth in a self-satisfied smirk, taking a step back.

"Did you say goodbye to your first kiss?"

Shinra was left breathless, brows knitting in annoyance but he took a moment to regain composure, and soon enough he was smiling again, head tipped to the side.

"If I had a little warning, I would've," Shinra mustered to say.

Ignoring Shinra, Izaya left him to babble on his own, and he limped towards the sofa to lie down on it, taking up all the space on purpose. His hand naturally reached for the remote control to surf through the channel for a good program. Seriously, why did Shinra love 'National Geographic' so much?

"Well, I suppose I deserved that. At least I still have something Orihara-kun won't take."

That caught Izaya's attention.

Shinra couldn't read his friend's expression, and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to know. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back— yet perhaps there would be no satisfaction if he found out, seeing as the grin playing on Izaya's lips had him thinking that there was more in store for him. With the topic they were on, he definitely would like to be left oblivious to it as of now.

"Are you satisfied now, at least?" Shinra pressed on, picking up a party popper he'd prepared before when Izaya replied no more, "Anyway, I guess the party can start, although it's so close to midnight already. Happy birthday again, Orihara-kun!"

"No, wait— what the fuck was that?"

"What was what?" Izaya turned to look at Shizuo (was it in his nature to react to Shizuo's voice? he really wondered this), his thumb which was hovering over the button on the remote control stilling.

"You took his first kiss?"

"Why does it have anything to do with Shizu-chan? Do you want me to take yours as well? I'm sure Shizu-chan hasn't had his yet, considering his abnormal strength! It makes the girls run away in fear of their lives."

"Kuru-nee! Film it, film it!"

Mairu screamed in excitement when her brother suggested on giving Shizuo a kiss as well, her little feet stomping on the floor while Kururi was fumbling with her phone, trying to locate the camera icon. Celty appeared to be shocked, still— so it was only up to Kadota to stop the twins from filming anything. He couldn't guarantee that Izaya wasn't going to pull off such a thing again. It was best to confiscate their phones before a video of all of them end up on social websites, and considering it involved the two Ikebukuro famous 'duo', it'd blow up for sure.

"No, you two!" Kadota quickly grabbed Kururi's phone before checking Mairu for hers.

"I'd rather die than let you kiss me."

Izaya's gaze turned menacing at Shizuo's words.

"Then die. Shizu-chan should stop having his temper does decisions for him, ne?"

"Can the party start?" Shinra let out a rather nervous laugh, wishing that they wouldn't start a fight in his living room and wreck all of his belongings and furniture. But little did he know that another shock would befall them, their movements halting and they were left looking like statues with their eyes glued on the scene before them— Izaya leaning in towards Shizuo, the way he did with Shinra earlier. It had everyone holding their breaths, anticipating to be witnesses in this history making moment, until those lips only went as far as to land on the cheek, which was disappointing yet still surprising… and of course, very puzzling.

"Why's everything with you complicated?"

Shizuo could only let out a sigh.

"That's what makes us different," retorted Izaya.

"I thought we were the same?"

It felt like it was suddenly so quiet that he could hear a pin drop, or was it just because his entire focus shifted to Shizuo? His breath hitching, he straightened his posture to take a look at Shizuo; the corners of his lips curled up into a faint smile. The smile looked genuine to anyone who was watching, which came off as a shock to everyone else (Kadota thought he really should start keeping tracks of how many times they'd been surprised by something Izaya did).

"Thanks for correcting my mistake. Now, let's go cut some cake before Shizu-chan gets grumpy!"

"I can't believe what I'm seeing! CELTY! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

[ I… I think I am… ]

"Is… is there an ulterior motive behind this?"

"Power…" (The power of yaoi.)


End file.
